I don't think it's so much "help our buddies out" as "bring in a known quantity that I'm comfortable with". For example, I dislike Dick Cheney and the past Bus

I don't think it's so much "help our buddies out" as "bring in a known quantity that I'm comfortable with". For example, I dislike Dick Cheney and the past Bush administration as much as anyone for a whole host of reasons. But I'd be willing to bet that their thought process with the no-bid halliburton contracts was actually based on comfort level rather than plain old corruption. Of course, on the flip-side, it's easy to tell yourself all kinds of justifiable reasons why your buddies getting the contract is just a side effect of the things you really wanted.