Shortly after his election in November, Barack Obama promised to fill his administration with “deliberate haste”. The hitherto demoralised Republican party is now seizing on Mr Obama’s alleged failure to live up to the “deliberate” element of that pledge by rushing nominees through his vetting process.

At a Republican retreat last week, Eric Cantor, a rising star in the House of Representatives, asked the audience: “Why are Democrats in favour of higher taxes?” The audience shouted back: “Because they don’t pay any.” That quip looks like less of a joke as time goes on. Having set high standards during the campaign when he promised to clean up Washington, Mr Obama is now faced with accusations of hypocrisy.