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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>From today’s (January 29, 2006) Spokesman Review –<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Sometimes, the hardest part is keeping a straight face,
Molly Ivins says.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Bush's disasters are all too easy to spot <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Molly Ivins <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Creators Syndicate<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>January 29, 2006<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>AUSTIN</span></font></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:State> – Several
great minds were asked to help think up interview questions for George W. Bush.
I liked, "Are you the worst president since James Buchanan, or have you
never heard of him?" <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Sorry about the snarkiness quotient, but is there anything
these folks can't screw up – and then refuse to own up to? <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> is the
most difficult to judge because it's so far away. I can find no indication
– from hours of electricity available to amount of oil being pumped to
number of dead people – that hints at any improvement. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>On the other hand, even though I don't think it's my job, I
can't prove that pulling out won't make things worse. Judging the good news-bad
news volume from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>
took such an exceptional lurch to ludicrous, it's now difficult to even try to
judge it with a straight face. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>(For those of you who missed it: The Pentagon is now
investigating itself to find out why it was paying American soldiers to write
phony stories about how well things are going in Iraq and then paying a
politically connected Republican public relations firm to in turn bribe Iraqi
news outlets to run the phony stories. Presumably, this fooled a lot of
Iraqis.) <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>In matters closer to home, however, it is not that hard to
miss total disaster when you see it. The Medicare prescription drug benefit
comes to mind. As governmental screw-ups go, it ranks up there with Katrina,
which in turn is the latest in a parade of fiascoes inspiring the
administration to an impressive level of dishonesty. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Following its usual M.O., the administration's first step on
Katrina was to clam up on all the information possible about how the government
handled it. Why should a congressional committee have any right to question the
Bush administration? Whom do they think they represent? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I couldn't even bring myself to snicker at poor Joe
Lieberman, chairman of the committee trying to find out what went wrong, as he
forlornly announced a "near total lack of cooperation." Despite his
record as a Bush toady, Lieberman couldn't get enough information to even start
on the problem. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The committee had one interesting item – Bush had
claimed that "no one anticipated" <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">New Orleans</st1:place></st1:City> would be leveled. Turns out they
not only expected it, but the Department of Homeland Security sent an urgent
warning to the White House situation room, saying Katrina will likely leave
"the New Orleans metro area submerged for weeks or months." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Meanwhile, the White House informed <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Louisiana</st1:place></st1:State> reps it would not be supporting
legislation for a federally financed reconstruction program for the area, despite
Bush's promise to make it the grandest reconstruction since the Marshall Plan. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Looking on the bright side, this may yet turn out to be a
good thing, since a new audit of the federally financed reconstruction in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> indicates
– well, a great deal left to be desired. That would be counting untold
billions of dollars wasted, millions left lying around in footlockers and
filing cabinets, millions gambled away and – here's a note – three
Iraqis who fell to their death in a repaired hospital elevator that had been
certified as safe. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I also like the one about the contractor who got $100,000 to
refurbish an Olympic-sized swimming pool (clearly a high priority in war-torn <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>) but only
polished the pumps. Well, polished pumps are nice. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Governance in this administration is like Casey Stengel with
the early Mets: "Doesn't anybody here know how to play this game?"
But lest you think I do nothing but pick on the Bushies, let me devote some
loving attention to the best Congress money can buy. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Last month, in a closed-door, Republican-only
"conference committee" meeting, a $22 billion change was inserted at
the last minute. The taxpayers were supposed to get $26 billion in relief over
10 years by altering a formula for Medicare reimbursement. But lo, many insurance
lobbyists for the HMOs knew about the committee meeting attended only by
Republicans, who helpfully lowered the savings estimate of the formula to $4
billion and handed the other $22 billion back to the insurance industry. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>We can certainly see how serious the Republicans are about
"reform" – we can't wait to pay, er, hear more. One sign to
look for would be if they stop calling it "lobby reform" and call it
"congressional reform," instead.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Take care, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:City>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Tom Hansen<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Moscow</span></font></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, <st1:State
w:st="on">Idaho</st1:State></span></font></st1:place><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but
the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." <br>
<br>
--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.</span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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