For all those fantasists who think that Enron will be George Bush’s Whitewater (and who, like Bob Scheer, apparently never had the cerebral propensity to understand Whitewater), the WSJ has an entertaining little reminder of the real Whitewater, and the continuing stark difference between this administration and the previous one.

David Carr has a little commentary at Samizdata on Amnesty International, which, in its support for gun control, is shown to be yet another “average post- modernist left-wing lobby group”:

Far from being a ‘Candle in the Darkness’, Amnesty International is just another one of those organisations that know everything about human rights and nothing at all about human liberties.

Not to mention human nature…

…should be an Olympic event for liberal pundits. I haven’t said much about the Enron situation, other than to point out that the only administration for which there is actually any evidence that favors were granted to Enron for political contributions was the Clinton Administration.

But Shields and Brooks on MacLehrer tonight was hilarious, watching the mental and logical contortions that Mark Shields was going through to try to pin the tail on the elephant. Given the paucity of real scandals, after the scandal du jour, the scandal continuum of the previous administration, this is the pathetic state to which their desperation finally leads them.

First, it was the old ploy of guilt by association and reputation–most of Enron’s contributions went to Republicans, Bush was good buds with Lay, then he tried to deny it, Bush has a reputation of being for the wealthy and powerful, blah, blah, blah..

When Brooks points out what I did previously–that Enron actually did get rides on diplomatic missions in exchange for contributions to the DNC and White House (with associated eventual contracts)–and there is not only no evidence that the Bush Administration helped Enron when they asked for it, but that instead there is abundant evidence that they hung them out to dry, then Shields says, “Well, it’s not what they did, it’s what they didn’t do. They wanted to not be regulated.”

Then, when it is pointed out that if this is what they wanted, and they actually got it (not at all clear), it seemed to not do them any good, since they are now bankrupt, the story shifts again. “Well, but they’re such crumbums, letting their business go under, and their stock melt down, and hurting all those employees, and widows, and orphans, and their puppy dogs.” Thus we progress from “Enron bribed the Bush Administration to grant them favors” to “the heartless Bush Administration let Enron go under, hurting all those poor people…” (This is a tactic that Henry Waxman is shifting to as well.)

I suspect that this whole thing is going to go over about as well as Daschle’s absurd attempt to blame the depth of the recession on tax cuts that haven’t happened yet (i.e., like a uranium Hindenburg).

If there is a scandal here, it’s not a campaign finance scandal (unless the SEC was paid off to look the other way). It is a scandal of corporate governance and the accountability of accountants, and while Enron is about to go mammaries up almost immediately, it’s also going to be long-term damaging (and appropriately so) to Arthur Anderson.

The latter company has built itself into an accounting and consultancy powerhouse, but if we are to judge by the Enron case, its clients have been getting poor value for their money (unless their intention is to use it as a high-paid consiglieri to keep a double, or even triple set of books, which are promptly burned at the first sign of the G-men…). This is what Enron paid twenty-seven megabucks for? Nice work, if you can get it. And stay out of jail…

For those who were complaining about some peoples’ (including moi) “insensitive” comments about the recent departure of the Clinton canine, here’s an interesting little nugget from Andrew Sullivan’s lunch with Dick Morris.

I also inquired about Buddy. All Dick said was that he had never seen Clinton so much as touch a dog in private. Figures.

Assuming that you believe Dick Morris (I always will, when it comes to his word against that of an admitted perjurer), this is why I had no compunction about Buddy commentary. Like his Wyoming vacation, or tears-on-command at Ron Brown’s funeral, Buddy was a show dog–Clinton probably ran a focus group beforehand to figure out which breed he should get.

I feel bad for Buddy, but he’s in a better place now. It’s hard for me to work up much sympathy for a sociopath.

Another great read from Mark Steyn.

…Let’s take it as a given that George W. Bush lacks the intelligence to hold down a really demanding job like columnist at the New York Times or Slate. Let?s take it as read that he’s a stupid man leading the stupid party of a stupid country. Granted all that, his blissful indifference to the hotshots of the International Who’s Who is as brilliant a distillation of global reality as any. Bush couldn’t name the Prime Minister of Hoogivsadamistan, but in the weeks before 11 September, having already spotted his predecessor’s neglect of the matter, his administration was working on new strategies to combat international terrorism. What a chump, eh? Too dumb to be Prime Minister of Canada.

Another great read from Mark Steyn.

…Let’s take it as a given that George W. Bush lacks the intelligence to hold down a really demanding job like columnist at the New York Times or Slate. Let?s take it as read that he’s a stupid man leading the stupid party of a stupid country. Granted all that, his blissful indifference to the hotshots of the International Who’s Who is as brilliant a distillation of global reality as any. Bush couldn’t name the Prime Minister of Hoogivsadamistan, but in the weeks before 11 September, having already spotted his predecessor’s neglect of the matter, his administration was working on new strategies to combat international terrorism. What a chump, eh? Too dumb to be Prime Minister of Canada.

Another great read from Mark Steyn.

…Let’s take it as a given that George W. Bush lacks the intelligence to hold down a really demanding job like columnist at the New York Times or Slate. Let?s take it as read that he’s a stupid man leading the stupid party of a stupid country. Granted all that, his blissful indifference to the hotshots of the International Who’s Who is as brilliant a distillation of global reality as any. Bush couldn’t name the Prime Minister of Hoogivsadamistan, but in the weeks before 11 September, having already spotted his predecessor’s neglect of the matter, his administration was working on new strategies to combat international terrorism. What a chump, eh? Too dumb to be Prime Minister of Canada.

Here’s a nice little bit of news from the Flint Journal, my old home-town newspaper.

Concealed weapons permits are up 400% since the new CCW law passed in Michigan, but for some reason, contrary to hysterical warnings from the gun-(i.e., freedom)-control movement, the place hasn’t turned into the Wild West. In fact, there’s been no noticeable increase in gun crimes…

According to the AP, Bill and Hillary Clinton were “deeply saddened” at the news that their dog, Buddy, was “hit by a car.” It was an “accident.”

Best of the Web helpfully points out the other occasions when the Clintons were “deeply saddened.”

I suspect that a couple of those 2200+ occasions were the deaths of Vince Foster and Ron Brown. I wonder if Buddy was about to write a tell-all book?

John Leo has a nice little piece this morning on the continued glum and frustration of the chatterati, as all of the multi-culti, anti-freedom values they’ve been pushing for decades are being rejected by the American people in the wake of the September attacks.

The big picture is galling, too. Leading roles on the national stage haven’t been played by the thinking elite but by the semi-disdained non-chatterers who act physically in the real world: the military, the police, firefighters, agents of the CIA. And the values of the non-chatterers — heroism, patriotism, self-sacrifice — are on the rise. Crowds aren’t lining the streets and holding up “Thank you, chatterers” signs as pundits and professors drive by…

…None of the elite’s wartime moves have worked. The effort to avoid U.S. retaliation for Sept. 11 by calling in the United Nations was a non-starter. The attempt to demonize the “racial profiling” of Muslims at airports fell flat, rejected by huge majorities, including a large majority of blacks. The left’s mind-boggling attempt to turn the anti-globalization crusade into a ’60s-style “campaign against war and racism” also collapsed. Even more amazing was the refusal of the feminist movement to support any show of force against the Taliban. Let’s see, who shall we support? America or fanatics who deny all rights to women and whip them on the street if they walk too noisily? Hmmm. Too close to call.