The nomination of Samuel Alito
for the Supreme Court could do good
if Democrats would unite and fight
instead of posturing for TV time.
If a filibuster successfully prevented
confirmation it would save the court from
a dangerous tilt. If Republicans, “nuke� it,
virtually freezing the Senate isn’t all bad.
Either way progressives could get an
issue for the mid-term elections, and some
important experience […]

Calvin Trillin’s best selling book
of poems about the Bush administration
had the prescient title quoted above.
Though the President lost a key official
to indictment, he’ll “stay the course”
with the same misguided crew.
The New York Times says he appears to see
little need for the housecleaning previous
administrations tried to rebuild credibility.

The only similarity between
the Lewinski and Lewis scandals
is the forced parallel in names.
Lewinski was a personal failing,
Lewis the tip of an institutional iceberg.
He alone lied enough to be indicted.
An unknown number broke a law too
complicated to enforce, but kept their
deception within the legal limit.
The Washington Post headlines this story:
“…Moment of Truth for the White House…â€?
My […]

Senator John Kerry expressed regret yesterday
about his vote to authorize the Iraq war. He also
called for withdrawing 20,000 troops by year’s end.
Talk about too little too late.

Bush nominated J. Dorrance Smith as
chief spokesman for the Pentagon.
In April Smith said the partnership of U.S.
TV networks and Al Jazeera is “a powerful
tool for the terrorists in the war in Iraq.”
Some Senators think that might limit his
effectiveness as liaison with the news media,
and will try to save the President from himself.

With senior staffers and a nominee in trouble,
to say nothing of a war he wishes we’d ignore,
Bush takes umbrage at The Onion decorating
parodies of speeches with the Presidential seal.
Is this what he calls setting priorities?

No scrap of advice she gave to Bush,
that might reveal her thinking or beliefs
about the law, can be revealed to the
Senate without jeopardizing the
Presidency, so her slate stays blank.
A cynic might conclude Bush advisers
determined that blank is her best side.
More likely, Bush is counting on Miers’
twisting in the wind to provide distraction
from whatever Fitzgerald decides […]

John Scott, candidate for mayor
in Solon, Ohio, will give $1,000
campaign donors special access
and the title “mayoral adviser.�
A spokesman for Ohio’s Secretary
of State, an expert at manipulating
elections, says it appears legal, “there
is no law against poor judgment.”
It is unclear whether that refers to
asking too little, putting the offer
in writing or not using a clever title
for big […]

Tis the night before Fitzmas,
and the best subject for discussion is
Libby saying, during Bush’s first term,
that he planned to stay as Cheney’s
adviser until “I get indicted or something.”
I will not discuss his prescience, because
I don’t want to jinx anything.

DeLay attacked the prosecutor
for being a democrat.
Now he wants to get rid of a judge
who contributed to moveon.org.
At the trial he will probably challenge
jurors who voted, because they
might not have chosen Republicans.
With a little luck the jury will
tell Tom to go pound salt.

“Miers is a good bowler and
against abortion – so what?�
That was the headline
over Ann Coulter’s column
in the DeKalb, Illinois
Daily Chronicle today.
She didn’t write it, but it’s
the most intelligent thing that
ever appeared above her name.

The Bush solution to illegal immigration
seems to be to make cheap labor legal.
If that’s a good idea, maybe it would work
for marijuana.

A couple of cabinet secretaries
astounded Lou Dobbs today.
They suggested our immigration
laws would be strictly enforced.
Bush will send undocumented
workers home, bring them back
as “guests� (i.e. cheap labor).
Sorry Lou, nothing will change.

The Majority Leader stepping aside
frees House Republicans to slash budgets
for food stamps and health care for the poor
to pay for hurricane relief. Who would have
believed DeLay was the best of a bad lot?

Whether or not Fitzgerald indicts,
it is clear Libby and Rove lied
to McClellan, maybe bosses, and us.
That may not be enough for jail,
but for people on the public payroll
it should be enough to kick them off.
When Senators quiz Harriet Miers
about her legal judgment, they should
ask how she advised Bush on this.

The Bush Education Department hired
Armstrong Williams to engage in illegal
“covert propaganda.� Now they want
to nail him for not performing the work.
Doesn’t that make them all innocent?

The President chatted via satellite with
ten U.S. troops. They were polished.
Bush looked at his notes too much,
seemed to grope for the right words.
Next time, maybe the President should
practice and let the soldiers wing it.

Ms. Miers was persnickety that memos
not expose the President to bad grammar.
She also might be careful that a nominee,
not subject him to conservative rebuke,
unless it helps disguise another screw-up.
Apparently she thinks stashing evacuees
in hotels for eleven million dollars a day
generates enough political stench to justify
putting her on the Supreme Court bench.

George Will summarizes Bush failures
in the October 17 issue of Newsweek.
He doesn’t like No Child Left Behind,
the Prescription Drug Bill, the Transportation Bill,
or rebuilding New Orleans with borrowed money.
Will shows great insight until he seems
to express surprise at Bush’s incompetence.

On his last trip to Katrina’s wake
the President donned a tool belt and
had his picture taken with a hammer,
pounding nails into a piece of plywood.
It wasn’t a photo-op, he was a role model.
Questioned about his plans for rebuilding
the city, he said local people should do
the planning and he would support them.
That’s not stalling, it’s delegating.
When […]