San Francisco Chronicle
by Jon Carroll

10/31/05

I dunno, does it seem like 1998 to you? Or maybe 1973? You know -- the president in a second term, a scandal erupts, everyone in the White House saying they're not paying attention and instead doing what the American people elected them to do. The president tries to stay above it all, but loses supporters as more details emerge. Nothing else seems to get done, even though there is much else to do. In both previous cases, it wasn't so much the initial act as the cover-up that prolonged the story. The lesson about the malign nature of cover-ups was much noted both times -- 'if only he'd come clean right away,' people murmured -- but that lesson has not been learned. Maybe that will always be the case; every administration has its own form of hubris, its own feeling of invincibility. Heck, people drive without seat belts and fail to evacuate hurricane zones -- the 'special me' notion is widespread...

http://tinyurl.com/873t2


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp