Odd job for the Legislative to dictate to the Executive how to manage his national defense business.

Also. Is this not how the U.S. Intelligence Community get into such a dark place, in the first place?

Surely, we haven't forgotten Frank Church, Teddy Kennedy and other LEGISLATORS who hobbled, blinded, starved then finally viscerated the nation's intelligence capabilities.

Do we really want that same lot trying now to re-attach a retina to eyes they blinded years ago?

I'm not making that big a deal out of it--I mostly posted the news story.

I do think this is noteworthy, though. Bush is campaigning, too, but he actually shows up for work once in a while. Sure, the vote was a blow-out and it didn't make much substantive difference that Kerry and Edwards missed it. But after trying to make political hay out of the fact that Bush didn't ram this through Congress the first week after the 9/11 Report came out--and calling for emergency sessions and whatnot--one would think they could have flown in for the vote. They are, after all, getting paid to be Senators.

And a vote on a fundamental issue of national security in wartime is hardly the same thing as one's activity as governor. Although, as I recall, Bush did actually sign/veto legislation, make decisions on death penalty clemency appeals, and the like during his campaign for the presidency in 2000.

I realize partisanship is going to ratchet through the roof in the next few weeks, but two points penalty, silliness. There is no substance in noting that to win a presidential campaign you actually have to, you know, campaign. They unfortunately can't pretend they have a major address and then just throw out scraps of red meat on national television.