[NEWS] - Two presidential lies? That's what Frank Rich contends in the New York Times Op Ed piece The United States of Enron. To quote:

As the world knows now, George W. Bush told two lies when first asked about his ties to the top guy in what may prove the largest corporate flimflam in history. The president said (1) that he only "got to know" Mr. Lay in 1994, when in fact their relationship goes back at least to 1992; and (2) that Mr. Lay "was a supporter" of Governor Richards, when in fact Mr. Lay told TV's "Frontline" last year that he "did support" Mr. Bush over Ms. Richards in their Texas race.

Even Ari Fleischer gets in on the act, telling people a couple of weeks ago that no one in the Whitehouse had ever discussed Enron's financial situation. Oops! But as there is no sex involved in this scandal (only a lot of people like you and me losing their life savings and a job) Washington thinks the story "has no legs." Nice. Also, both Dems and Reps are involved. Looking at the proportion of Enron money that went to Ann Richards compared to that which went to Bush, we can get a pretty good idea who Enron and the like are pulling for.

As Sen. Kennedy recently put it in the Boston Globe, "It's so interesting that the company with the leading Republicans that ... despise government, the first thing they do is pick up the phone and call the government for a bailout.''