NP: John Cage, 4'33"

In case you're wondering if I've got anything to say about this whole Mark Foley scandal, I can't shake the notion that Karl Rove bumped into Lucifer himself at a party, maybe some sort of conservative think-tank get-together or a wrap party for Hannity and Colmes. Anyway, Lucifer is a little drunk -- he's like that at parties -- and starts boasting about how he's the baddest of the bad, but Rove is unmoved. After all, he controls the government of the most powerful country on earth, what matter is this puny little red guy?

At this point, start humming "Titties and Beer" from Frank Zappa, or maybe "The Devil Went Down To Georgia." Trust me, it'll make the whole experience that much better. In fact, here's the setup from the first tune.

Devil: "You can't fool me, you ain't that bad. I mean, you should see some of the souls I've had. There was Milhouse Nixon, and Agnew, too, and both of those suckers was worse than you!" Rove: "Well let's make a deal if you think that's true. I mean, you're the Devil, so whatcha gonna do?"

So Rove challenges the Devil. If he can keep the Republican majority in Congress despite the worst scandal the Devil can think of, he gets a fiddle of gold or somesuch. Maybe the keys to the gates of hell, or an all access pass to the Fox News studios? Are those the same thing?

The Devil throws him 9/11, complete with warnings, and Rove shrugs it off, and challenges him to do better. He offers tales of WMD on which to predicate a war of choice. No-bid contracts to politcal cronies. Starting a civil war in a foreign country. An indictment to the Vice President's Chief of Staff. How about a hurricane that exposes the house of cards that Rove has so expertly assembled? Finally, the Devil plays his last card. With your power predicated on the motivation of the religious right, let's see what happens if a gay pervert, possibly even a pedophile, is uncovered in your midst, along with a cover-up to hide his proclivities.

The bottom line here is that I can't shake this notion of the GOP still controlling enough of the levers behind the scenes (uh, Diebold?) to effectively neutralize every last electoral threat. We'll see who wins the bet in a month.