See that nice fellow up there refusing to answer any questions about why his company kept selling salmonella-tainted products even after it knew it was making them?

Doesn't it somehow figure that he was a Bush administration appointee to the USDA panel charged with overseeing the quality and safety of peanut products?

The president of the peanut company linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak serves on an industry advisory board that helps the U.S. Department of Agriculture set quality standards for peanuts.

Stewart Parnell, president of Peanut Corp. of America, based in Lynchburg, Va., was first appointed to the USDA’s Peanut Standards Board in July 2005 and was reappointed in October for a second term that runs until June 2011, according to the USDA.

Conservative governance in action, folks.

Parnell was removed from the board last week.

More about the Peanut Standards Board here.