"I don't think we need a big show"

Interviewed by the New York Times, the
second-ranking Republican in
the Senate, Don Nickles of Oklahoma,
said his collegues in the Grand Old
Party are backing away from plans to investigate
Janet Reno's raid on
Little Havana. "It could be turned into
political theater, and I don't
think anyone wants that," Nickles said.
"I'd like to get some answers to
some questions, but I don't think we
need a big show."

Warp back to an earlier time ... say, a
week before. In a
Chicago Tribune interview, the zealous (if factually impaired) Nickles called for blood: "The administration keeps doing things that seem excessive. Waco was one. Ruby Ridge
was another. This is another one. To me, it's an abuse of power."

In his now-discarded outrage, Nickles apparently didn't realize that the Ruby Ridge incident took place five months before Clinton took office.

Spoof of the day comes from
the Matt Drudge-mocking "Drudge Retort."
"ELIAN TRADED FOR HARD-THROWING
RIGHTHANDER!" the main headline screams.
"In a deal that has the backing of
the U.S. Department of Justice and
representatives of Miami's
Cuban-American community, Elian
Gonzalez was traded to Cuba today
for
right-handed pitcher Jose Ariel
Contreras and a defector to be named
later." And what about poor Elian? "A
child's freedom is a
small price to pay for starting
pitching."