Pork barrel blues

Perhaps all we need to know about the water bill Congress just rammed through by overriding Bush's veto is this:

Some of the items in the bill stretched the "essential" label. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) took issue with a new visitor center in the bill for Morgan City, La. (the town already has two), and $8.5 million for "beach nourishment" at the Southern California site of the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition.

Now admittedly, some of these sand castles are elaborately crafted and quite beautiful but in the end they are made of sand and will disappear. Sounds like a fitting euphemism somehow.

The WaPo's Dana Milbank reported that Congress's victory actually brought the warring parties together for the first time in a while. Guess nothing beats a pork barrel victory party (hopefully that's not offensive to Muslims). It's likely no coincidence that former Bush adviser and emissary of Satan Karl Rove picked today to remind everyone of the horrible record this Congress has amassed as they approach their one year anniversary. Good try Karl, but no cigar.

Milbank's message will resonate more with the press, ie: "Bush learns an important lesson: don't mess with lawmakers' pet projects". But the real lesson is this: Reid and Pelosi were never serious when they whined before the election about Bush spending too much. They were just whining. And posturing. That's what they do. In the end, their success is measured in racks of homeward bound bacon (hopefully that's not offensive to Muslims).