others have written quite a bit about this williams payola scandal. in my mind it's nothing but a logical extension of prior instances where the bush administration has improperly used public money as propoganda to promote its policies (e.g. ashcroft's patriot act tour)
the williams thing also says something else about bush policies. when the administration has to pay "a prominent conservative commentator" like williams $240,000 to promote its education initiatives what does it suggest about those policies? are they really so indefensible that people who otherwise would speak in favor of bush programs on their own, still need a little deal-sweetening to say something nice about the No Child Left Behind Act."
