More evidence that the President’s word
    isn’t worth the spit behind it

Looks as if, as predicted, Mr. Bush is going to try to weasel his way out of his pledge to release all records relevant to the question of his National Guard service. Or so Scott McClellan said today. If you want to believe that the lawyers and accountants of a trust-fund baby don’t have copies of his old tax returns, go ahead and believe it. But the IRS has copies, and will make them available at the taxpayer’s request.

Actually, I think the press is on this now, and unlikely to let go.

Richard Serrano at the LA Times has details on how the Freedom of Information Act process would work if a reporter wanted to ask to see the records the President promised to release.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com