No right wing commentator left behind

Just when you think the Bush administration has exceeded its capacity to amaze, they pull off something jaw-droppingly incredible.

Seeking to build support among black families for its education reform law, the Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same.

The Bush administration's profound tendency to flout the law, engage in propaganda, and waste taxpayer's money all come together in this story. And when you add the ability of right wing pundits to mix their "core beliefs" with their bank accounts, you have a parable for our sick times.

A quarter of a million semolians. That's a lot of cabbage, you say. But that's not all. Order now and you can get some more propaganda for a low, low cost of a cool million.

Williams' contract was part of a $1 million deal with Ketchum that produced "video news releases" designed to look like news reports. The Bush administration used similar releases last year to promote its Medicare prescription drug plan, prompting a scolding from the Government Accountability Office, which called them an illegal use of taxpayers' dollars.

Williams, 45, a former aide to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is one of the top black conservative voices in the nation. He hosts The Right Side on TV and radio, and writes op-ed pieces for newspapers, including USA TODAY, while running a public relations firm, Graham Williams Group.

$1 million. It's all about the children.

Williams, of course, having served Bush's second favorite justice, knows a little something about accepting bribes.