Poland--Fencing!

There was an ethnic joke at the time of the 1984 Olympics. A black, a Mexican, and a Pole are moping outside the stadium because they don't have tickets. The black guy strips to his shorts, steals a hubcap, and runs in saying "Kenya, discus!" The Mexican grabs an auto radio antenna, and runs in saying, "Mexico, javelin!" Our stereotyped Pole grabs some barbed wire and runs in saying, "Poland, fencing!"

If Mickey Kaus's fears are right, Pres. Bush's first veto (a pocket veto) might be of the legislation providing for 700 miles of border fence. Given that bureaucratic maneuvers already threaten to reduce that law to an unrealized expression of sentiment, such a veto would be the ultimate betrayal of the base. The fence law is the product of authentic grass-roots sentiment. If Bush, who has never picked up a veto pen, chooses this modest security measure, dear to the hearts of many ordinary people, many will wonder what the point is of maintaining GOP control of the House.

A party that ignores pederasty and an insecure border inspires little confidence. I think Nancy Pelosi and her minions will be worse, but how much worse can they be, if Bush realizes he can use the veto pen.