Dope

Since no one responded to the "replace Remora" contest, Limited Inc spent some time bent over our dictionary, then the Shakespeare, then surfing through various columnists. So far, we haven't settled on a name. So we will continue to use "Dope" and think about linguistics until inspiration strikes.

Well, the headlines are Enron inspired, as the news wakes up to the fact that Enron was in bed with the Bush Administration. This is as unexpected as hearing that some Hollywood starlet is sleeping around. The Bush administration was pretty damn proud of its bedmate until recently. But like some chastened, though still eminently corrupt financial "advisor," the Bushies are pulling back on their investment. It is hard to see this as more than a passing scandal, however. The press still doesn't understand Enron's collapse; the biz press is unanimously on the side of "de-regulation." And the public is acquiescent, even to the extent that polls have shown no resistance to de-regulation even though they have also shown a majority expects that de-regulation will entail a price hike. If the nineties were about anything, they were about the crushing of the will to resist. Although it is gratifying to see anti-WTO protesters throng the streets when the WTO is in town, it isn't enough, right now. In the backlash atmosphere of Bush year one, it is easy to foresee questions about Enron's role in directing Bush policy being labelled unpatriotic. Don't forget, this prez is on a Heros bubble gum card now.
The WP story includes this characteristic Bushy touch:

"Bush reimbursed Enron for the use of its corporate jet during his presidential campaign, and was feted by company officials at Enron Field, home of the Houston Astros, seven months before the election. The Houston Chronicle has reported that Bush conferred a series of nicknames on Enron chief executive Kenneth L. Lay, including "Kenny Boy.'"