Democratic Talking Points

No Stone Unturned--Just when you thought Karl Rove faded away, someone turns over a rock at Pat Robertson's Regent University. During a debate with Max Cleland at the Harvard of evangelical colleges, Rove compared the war in Iraq to U.S. efforts to establish democracy in Germany and Japan after World War II. Max Cleland noted that "attacking Iraq after 9/11 was like attacking Mexico after Pearl Harbor." Cleland also dared to suggest that Bush didn't capture Osama because of his obsession with Iraq. Karl raised the American flag, saluted, and attacked Cleland for disparaging the U.S. military. Karl, Max wasn't questioning the competence of the U.S. military; he was questioning the competence of its commander-in-chief. And, by the way, Karl, we are waiting for your words of wisdom on democracy in Pakistan.

Oscar! Oscar!--Let's nominate FEMA for a special Oscar for best performance by a bunch of rank amateurs. FEMA staged a news conference in which FEMA employees posed as reporters. Perhaps Fred Thompson could provide some acting tips after he figures out how he failed to notice that one of his campaign co-chairs is a convicted drug dealer. In the meantime, FEMA has apologized for its Bush league theatrics and has promised that it will never happen again. But, since FEMA isn't capable of managing a real disaster, we can expect an encore performance in the near future--hopefully, in one their formaldehyde trailers in New Orleans.

Santa, I just want a toy that doesn't kill me for Christmas--The Consumer Products Safety Commission, concerned about protecting consumers from dangerous products like toys with lead paint, has been flying on pleasure junkets paid for by the manufacturers that they are supposed to supervise. The junkets are "educational" trips which enable Bush political appointees to get a closer look at the pens which write the biggest checks to Republican coffers. And, pens can be very dangerous to the average American consumer.