I'm Your Man!

In what has become a time-honored tradition of the current regime, a political hack subordinate to the ranking political hack (also known as POTUS) is rewarded by a coveted position.

Many people wrongly believe that the Dubya label is an armband, or perhaps the American flag in its ubiquitous magnetized form. But in fact the Dubya brand is the Brownie, called so after the oft-relieved, variously transferred and sometimes pink-slipped former head of FEMA.

We see the Brownie label on George Tenet. By failing to gather accurate intelligence, and then failing to accurately reveal what the CIA did know, Tenet was rewarded with one of the longest tenures of any CIA Director, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Paul Wolfowitz wears the Brownie label. A failed strategist, incompetent Middle Eastern expert, funky phantasmagoric visionary of some other people's future in some other people's land? Yes, it's all true. But to the White House, Wolfie remains fully qualified - indeed, an exceptional candidate - for his recent promotion from world policeman to World Banker.

The Harriet Miers saga is the second great example of how to succeed in Bush politics. Recall, if you will, the first...