Unlike the case of former FEMA bigwig Michael Brown, nobody’s accusing Kenneth Tomlinson, another well-connected Republican in the political hot seat, of gross incompetence.

Rather, this top government broadcasting executive stands tagged by official investigators with ordinary sleaze. He’s been cited in two separate official investigations for abusing his position to benefit friends, political allies and himself.

Last November, Tomlinson resigned as head of the Corporation for public broadcasting after its Inspector General determined that he had frequently violated both federal law and CPB regulations in his campaign to combat perceived liberal bias in public broadcasting.

A new report focuses on Tomlinson’s separate role as head of the Broadcast Board of Governors, which plays a key role in public diplomacy. According to State Department inspectors, Tomlinson, a Karl Rove intimate, went behind the back of the board to give a friend a $245,000 contract for work that cannot be documented. He also used his office to take care of personal business, including overseeing his Thoroughbred horses, and billed the government for more work than the rules permit.

Tomlinson denies wrongdoing and calls the report the poisonous fruit of partisan politics. It might well be, but that’s beside the point. The only relevant question is: Did he abuse his government position for personal and political gain? Tomlinson’s nomination for another term as chairman of the BBG is now pending before the Senate, which would do well not to rubber-stamp it.

President Bush is continuing to stand by the nomination of Tomlinson, just as he supported Brown until it became screamingly obvious that Brownie was cooked. Tomlinson is not going to become a coast-to-coast punch line, but he offers a tempting election-year target for Democrats eager to portray this Republican administration as esteeming political loyalty over good government.

If Tomlinson has violated the trust of the president, to say nothing of the public, he should withdraw – or be withdrawn.