Gear Grinding, Part Deux

Thanks to a keen-eyed loyal "Exit 55" reader for alerting me to this article. In short, it says that in 1991, George H.W. Bush ("The Father", "41") spoke to students in Washington.

Things got a little crazy (from the article The Examiner):

The day after Bush spoke, the Washington Post published a front-page story suggesting the speech was carefully staged for the president's political benefit. "The White House turned a Northwest Washington junior high classroom into a television studio and its students into props," the Post reported.

With the Post article in hand, Democrats pounced. "The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students," said Richard Gephardt, then the House Majority Leader. "And the president should be doing more about education than saying, 'Lights, camera, action.'"

Democrats did not stop with words. Rep. William Ford, then chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, ordered the General Accounting Office to investigate the cost and legality of Bush's appearance.

And so it goes.