Obfuscation by the Numbers

Try to follow the bouncing ball:

What’s troubling about (Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher) Dodd's scandal isn’t so much that it remains unresolved but that it’s a textbook example of how scandals in Washington are swept under the rug. Indeed, Dodd’s behavior follows an utterly predictable pattern. Thus, National Review Online presents the Christopher Dodd Guide to Managing Political Scandal.

Step 1: Proclaim your innocence. Step 2: Promise exculpatory evidence. Step 3: Hide Behind Your Fellow Congressmen.

While the press and constituents badger Senator Dodd to account for his mortgage, Dodd insists that he doesn’t need to be held publicly accountable because his peers in the Senate are going to make sure that everything is on the up and up. So when is the Senate Ethics Committee expected to pass judgment on Dodd, you ask?

I'm asking.