[Publius]

You need to understand Enron's point of view. The company paid huge sums of money to the parties, presidential candidates and members of Congress. The post-Watergate reforms, though well intentioned, created a system of legalized bribery, and Enron felt that it had run up enough of a tab to demand -- and receive -- service when it called someone in Washington. It's good to know that Bush's people took the calls, listened, were exquisitely polite -- but did absolutely nothing to return the favors.

But this will also explain why all the noise about Enron and the threat of investigations will in the end produce nothing -- because both parties are involved.

Back in 1988, the the two national party committee chairs agreed to keep the S&L scandal off the table because both parties had their fingerprints on it. Likewise, in 1996 marital infidelity was kept off the table, and in 2000 it was China.

Both parties have drunk deeply from the Enron bottle. While the Democrats will certainly do what they can to embarrass Bush and his party, the investigation will stop as soon as it gets anywhere near Democratic fundraising. I fully expect McAuliffe and Racicot to quietly work out a gentleman's agreement to limit the investigations and keep this one off the table too.

[steve50]

I don't think Enron was interested in a bailout. There was more money to be "made" going under. If the Anderson and Enron guys come out of this free and clear, that's when we will know the donations had the intended effect.