By tonight, no one will even be THINKING about Bush's lies

Because Harry Reid's staff had some meetings with Jack Abramoff's staff. Reid did NOT support the position of Abramoff's clients, and claims that none of his actions were affected by any donations he received from said clients. However, because we are living in George W. Bush's America, there is absolutely no difference between the dozens of Republicans who took money directly from Abramoff and from whom there is a traceable record of quid pro quo, and Harry Reid accepting donations from tribes that happen to be Abramoff clients.

Josh Marshall looks at MSGOP's coverage here, analyzes the connection here, and wonders why the AP, before writing the story, didn't bother to contact Ron Platt, who was Abramoff's pointman in dealings with Reid.

OK, that's the "good soldier" stuff out of the way. I only put that in because you know as well as I do that by the end of day today, the talking point, dutifully parroted by the Republican shills in the broadcast and print media, will be that the entire Abramoff problem centers around Harry Reid, and that all Republicans, including George W. Bush, whose Abramoff connections were revealed yesterday and who is relying on the "Who you gonna believe, me or your lyin' eyes" defense, are as pure as the baby Jesus himself.

That said, I think that if Reid is splitting hairs about this or thinking it's going to go away, he's wrong. It doesn't matter whether he introduced or supported legislation in exchange for Abramoff client money or not. It doesn't matter if the contributions were legal or not. By this point, Reid should know that there is a double standard inside the Beltway about what Republicans are allowed to get away with vs. what Democrats are allowed to get away with. And with the Mighty Wurlitzer loaded for bear 24 x 7 x 365, Reid cannot afford to have ANYTHING that can even REMOTELY be construed as an Abramoff connection. Because they WILL turn this into a Democratic scandal even if nothing illegal or even improper resulted.

We cannot afford that.

Sen. Reid, you have helped create the situation in which the Democratic Party refuses to fight back against any Republican attack on anything. Now it's YOU that's the problem, whether you're a problem or not. Come clean, detail ALL connections you have, make sure everything is documentable. If you took any money, even if it's legal, send it back.

Because the rules are different for you. You should know that by now. And if you want the REAL Abramoff connection to just about all Republicans in Congress AND to the highest levels of the White House to stick, you have to get the weasels off your tail.