Voting Station

Bob McDonnell

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U.S. Governor

The Resume

    (June 15, 1954- )
    Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Represented Virginia’s 84th District in the House of Delegates (1992-2006)
    State Attorney General (2006-09)
    Governor of Virginia (2010-14)
    Republican
    Indicted on federal corruption charges (January 21, 2014)
    Convicted (September 4, 2014)
    Sentenced to two years in prison followed by two years supervised release (January 6, 2015)
    Remained free while appealing his conviction
    Conviction overturned in an unanimous decision by the Supreme Court (June 27, 2016)

Why he might be annoying:

    In a thesis for Regent University, he described feminists and working women as ‘detrimental to the family.’
    He and his wife Maureen received $130,000 in loans and gifts – including designer clothes, golf clubs and greens fees, and use of a private jet and a Ferrari – from Jonnie Williams, CEO of Star Scientific, a maker of dietary supplements.
    In return, he arranged meetings for Williams with state regulators, attended Star Scientific events to boost the company’s image, and allowed the governor’s mansion to be used for the launch party for one of Star’s supplements.
    He turned down a plea deal that would have dropped all charges against his wife.
    Instead, he adopted a ‘throw my wife under the bus’ defense, claiming she developed a ‘strong emotional attachment’ to Williams and calling witnesses who described her as ‘manipulative,’ ‘unpredictable,’ ‘deceptive’ and ‘a nut bag.’
    Why his wife’s alleged obsession with Williams required him to accept a Rolex from the guy went unexplained.
    In the Supreme Court decision overturning his conviction, Chief Justice John Roberts called his dealings with Williams ‘tawdry’ and ‘distasteful.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    He attended Notre Dame on a ROTC scholarship and served four years as an Army medical supply officer after graduation.
    His oldest daughter was an Army Signal Corps officer in Iraq.
    He claimed that any actions he performed for Williams were simply to support a Virginia-based business.
    His conviction was overturned when the Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors had used an overly broad definition of ‘official acts’ in their case.
    The scandal prompted the Virginia legislature to update the state’s lax ethics laws by enacting a cap of $100 on gifts from business interests and lobbyists.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 25 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 21 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 22 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 26 Votes: 50.0% Annoying