Go Ahead & Try   
The Washington Post provides a delightful example of one of the myriad ways the Bush Administration will exit as it governed, with comically opaque statements, inept execution of its legal responsibilities, and the providential retirement for health reasons of an official who facilitated its crimes by his own idleness.
The jerry-rigged pile which is the Bush White House email system is supposed to disgorge its treasures onto the National Archives when the president leaves office in a month.
But there’s never a lack of drama with these guys.
The endless litigation trying to force Bush not to destroy presidential records through sloth, indifference and malice has taught us that some five million emails may be missing from the White House system, as well as tens of thousands written on Republican National Committee email accounts in order to evade records keeping law.
National Archives’ General Counsel Garry Stern is praying for a Christmas Miracle:
“we hope and expect they all will exist on the system or be recoverable…We can’t say for sure.”
But Santa may not exist, or have treats for all the good boys and girls:
 “White House spokesman Scott M. Stanzel said last week that “we are making significant progress in accounting for the e-mail records stored on our computer network.” But he declined to say how many e-mails remain missing or to predict how long the recovery will take because the issue is the subject of ongoing litigation. “
“Stanzel said the White House is also still “working to acquire” e-mails involving official government business that were transmitted by presidential aides through accounts operated by the Republican National Committee, a problem also first publicized almost three years ago. “We continue to be in communication with RNC officials about recovering official records,” he said without offering details. Such records are subject to the Presidential Records Act, which requires their transfer to the Archives at noon on Jan. 20. “
Outgoing Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein has long urged faith-based archiving. Visiting the future
      George W. Bush Library home at SMU he painted the vision of a happy future , where the cares and controversies of the present fall away, and a disturbing category he invented called “Presidential Families” decide it’ll be good for grandpa’s image to let loose the papers.
The ongoing scandal that ex Presidents, and thanks to Bush, their heirs for untold generations, have any say in shaping the public record and image of past administrations went unmentioned.
But it’s not Weinstein’s problem anymore.
He’s resigning before the end of term smashup for health reasons, offering a glowing self-assessment has he scurries away from the looming train-wreck.
“we at the National Archives have worked diligently and successfully on our primary mission of maximizing public access to the records of all three branches of government while protecting at all costs this agency’s rock-solid nonpartisan integrity“
The Post’s story ends on a reassuring note. There’s no word on Saddam’s pistol, but…
“The bullhorn used by Bush at the World Trade Center site in New York is among the objects set to go to Texas. “
 
       Together Forever!     
Mr. President is doing his part to crash the Clinton Foundation web site, joining the aggrieved and the whimsiclay curious in pawing through these givers to the greater good of Bill Clinton.
As so many have cautioned, early trawling has been limited by the slowness of the site when it functions at all.
Amidst the proud donations of our Middle Eastern allies, some other curiosities appear.
Why does the public University of Florida appear among the $50-100,000 donors?
In the loftier one to five million donor band is a “Presidential Inaugural Committee” [left over 1997 money?] and the Princess Diana Memorial Fund. The latter might be a pass through for some common project on AIDS, although there is no mention of one on the Fund’s site.
The two big haired Nineties personalities do share an interest in cluster bombs: he dropped them in and about Kosovo, and her foundation attempts to clean them up.
 Classy   
From the latest Nixon document dump, the Los Angeles Times has further evidence of Richard Nixon’s bottomless boorishness.
The President’s first year in office was marked by a memo from Presidential aide Alexander Butterfield, giving Nixon a progress report on efforts to purge the White House of past president’s photographs.
Particular focus was given to the office of Edna Rosenberg, a civil servant since the Hoover administration. Nixon had spotted two photos of John F.Kennedy in her office, one inscribed to her by Kennedy.
Butterfield reported triumphantly that she had been forced to remove the photos, and the White House was now predecessor-free.
“On January 14th,” Butterfield reported to Nixon, “the project was completed and all 35 offices displayed only your photograph.”
Back ‘N Flat!     
Long hinted, now we know: it’s back to Dallas for the George W. Bushs! The featureless plains of Texas and it’s sprawl will be graced by both home, ranch and Presidential Library after Bush’s retirement.
Never Call Retreat  
The then former President will join two other Sons of Texas who returned after troubled Washington tenures.
 One shipped back to Texas was Education Secretary Rod Paige, who faced allegations of faking Houston graduation rates before going to Washington, and who spent Department funds on illegal propaganda for “No Child Left Behind.”
 And proud Dallasian Alphonso Jackson served as Housing & Urban Development Secretary until his favoritism and pay for play faux pas brought him low.
 Above & Beyond With Bill 
Some details of Bill Clinton’s Library disclosure deal became public Saturday, a selfless offering to the nation his handlers were careful to get out.
The path to announcing Hillary Clinton’s odd role as Barack Obama’s Secretary of State Monday will be smoothed by Bill releasing the names of his heretofore secret Library and Clinton Foundation donors, “beyond the requirements of law” as someone thoughtfully told the New York Times.
And they did it for the Sunday paper, for the sake of discretion.
“The disclosure of Mr. Clinton’s full agreement on a Saturday night might have the effect of drawing less attention to it while keeping the focus Monday on Mrs. Clinton.”
There is at least one catch. Senator Clinton has to get past the Senate, and then the information pours forth. “Most” of the disclosure “will become effective once Mrs. Clinton is confirmed.”
The Obama camp may get advanced word, but the rest of us have to wait until she’s in her new office. Then the nation and the media who enjoyed matching Senator Clinton’s White House schedule with Bill’s blowjobs will have at it.
Until then… 
