Demagogue

Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin is usually terse and way off the mark. But I give her credit for viewing the Armstrong Williams scandal outside of the typical left-vs-right paradigm. In recent days, Malkin has blasted Education Secretary Rod Paige, even calling for his head:

... Rod Paige should be fired. [Update: Yup, forgot that he's already leaving. If he is implicated in the design of this stupid pay-to-pander plan, he must face stiff penalties at most...and strong public rebuke by conservatives at the very least.]

Those who came up with this disgusting scheme should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Any other pundits who accepted money from the Bush administration, whether from the Education Department or any other bureaucracy, should come forward now and disclose. And then they should immediately return the money.

Today, on her blog, Malkin rips into Williams and Paige for mischaracterizing the DOE contract that is at the heart of the scandal:

... Paige broke his silence about the Armstrong Williams flap yesterday, insisting that the Department of Education's payments to Williams were geared "exclusively toward the production and airtime of advertisements ..."

... Exclusively?

The contract signed by Williams wasn't just about advertising. It guaranteed Paige and other Dept. of Education officials the right to appear on Williams' show. It pushed Williams to produce segments about No Child Left Behind, to discuss the legislation on other television shows, and to encourage other commentators to do the same.