the First Lady makes friends abroad,
while a "whiff" of scandal is finally recognized at home

background entertainment: "Enterprise," UPN

The First Lady, Laura Bush, is making friends in high places in Europe. This is something her husband, the Great Pretender, could not do. I say hurrah for her, and I say that without a trace of irony; this bit of fence-mending is overdue, and obviously the Commander-in-Thief and his underlings are not up to the task.

Laura Bush's work on the Friendliness Front probably won't gain us the alliances that we really need in the long run, but a bit of P.R. can't hurt. This administration has certainly worked as hard as it could to destroy all of the good will the world displayed following the 11 September 2001 debacle.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, head honcho G.W. "Bring Back Respect to the Office" Bush has proclaimed that whomever it was that leaked the top-secret info about Wilson's wife will be found and brought to justice. That is, if they can be found.

One media outlet described this as "a whiff of scandal" that "poses a new challenge" to this administration.

A "whiff?" This would suggest that this is a minor issue, first of all, and secondly that this is the very first suggestion of any malfeasance or misbehavior by any member of this administration.

According to Reuters News Service, University of Texas political scientist Bruce Buchanan said that this "whiff of scandal" "goes against the squeaky clean image the Bush administration has so assiduously cultivated." They may have been cultivating it, but it hasn't grown very vigorously, despite all the manure they've spread on it. There has been plenty of outcry from the very beginning about the bald-faced lies Bush, Cheney & Co. have been feeding to a hungry public. Sadly, the so-called "liberal press" has been largely ignoring the facts, preferring to report the cheery, sunny-day news that "all is well, nothing to see here!" while Rome burns.

Just a "whiff" of scandal? Does anybody remember:

- G.W. Bush not showing up for roughly 1 (consecutive) year of service during his stint in the National Guard; being stripped of his right to fly, for failure to report for his physical; getting an early honorable discharge anyway (why?). Largely ignored by the press. Completely ignored by the major press. Why? They are not The Liberal Press anymore. They are owned and controlled by very conservative corporate entities. Stories are killed on a regular basis by The Powers That Be, not because the are bad reporting, but because they are offensive to The Powers That Be. Pardon me for editorializing here, but that's just wrong!

- Enron scandal: G.W. Bush claimed he "barely knew" Ken Lay (but many reliable sources said that Dubya knew him so well that he called him "Kenny-Boy"); said that Ken Lay was actually a contributor to Ann Richards' campaign (true: but he contributed much, much more to Dubya's campaign). One for the courts.

- Energy Policy meetings: Cheney met with corporate leaders from the energy industry; claimed that environmental groups were included, but those same environmental groups say that they were denied access; Cheney and the White House refuse to release records and transcripts to Congressional committees. If you can't trust other branches of the government (who are Constitutionally charged with overseeing you), who can you trust? One for the courts, possibly a Special Counsel.

I won't even get into broken promises here. That's not scandal, that's just typical pathetic politics - but Dubya has, as usual, brought that particular field to a new low (or high).