Demagogue

It's rare for a restaurant to forget to put through a credit card charge. When was the last time that happened to you? And, even if it has, do you think a restaurant would forget to charge your credit card for a $1,846 bill?

In Tuesday's Washington Post, staff writer Mike Allen writes:

Members of Congress are rushing to amend their travel and campaign records, fearing that the controversy over House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will trigger an ethics war that will bring greater scrutiny to their own travel and official activities.

... Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) wrote to the Federal Election Commission on April 15 to report that he had discovered that the Washington restaurant Signatures had not charged his credit card -- as he said he had directed -- for a 2003 fundraiser for 16 people that cost $1,846.

Sound strange? Read on:

The event was hosted by Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist and part-owner of the restaurant who is now under congressional and criminal investigation for his handling of millions of dollars in fees from Indian tribes. Abramoff was not at the event.

"I never thought about this event again until it was brought to my attention very recently that no payment or reimbursement for the event has ever appeared on our FEC report," Vitter wrote.

Brought to his attention by whom? There aren't too many restaurants that hire staff accountants. If it was Vitter's director of fundraising, it's odd that he or she "just recently" happened to notice something that happened two years ago.