CLEARING THE DESKS

Firings and resignations have been dominating the news lately. Mostly, their (job) loss is our gain.

Henry Kissinger quit as head of the blue ribbon 9-11 investigating committee rather than list his clients, many of whom would have presented classic conflicts of interest. This after denying his secretive past was an impediment to an open investigation. Too bad George Mitchell felt he had to give up the vice chairmanship to earn a living – no doubt it is hard to support a family on a Senate pension.

The pope fired Cardinal Bernard Law as archbishop of Boston. The cardinal had orchestrated a nasty coverup of sexual abuse by priests for years, which led to a rapidly expanding scandal, a sharp decline in contributions to the diocese, possible criminal charges against church leaders and perhaps even bankruptcy. Hardly the stuff of a glowing performance review.

President George W. Bush heaved out his economic team, which hasn’t been able to please the markets or manage recovery. He seems to have taken a cue from the 1992 Democratic slogan and tweaked it with a bit of parental advice: “It’s the economy, son.”

And now Al Gore says he will not be a candidate in 2004. He is a smart policy wonk, but carries a lot of baggage and probably would have lost the rerun. Wise Democratic leaders must have told him it was time to pack up and make way for someone else. Besides, there’s always the comedy act to fall back on.

Now, if some wise Republicans can persuade Trent Lott to step aside. Being the Senate majority leader and the Senate’s major embarrassment clearly is too much work for one man.