Entries for December 2006

The runaway prosecutor in Durham, N.C., has been exposed for his dogged pursuit of the lacrosse players at Duke University. He has made a mess for himself.

The North Carolina Bar Association needs to take a long and careful look at his handling of this nationally covered and unsavory matter.

When President Richard Nixon was hunkering down in the White House during the gloomy days of the Watergate scandal, he once said in a disdainful tone: "Can you imagine Jerry Ford sitting in this chair?"

Yes, Mr. Nixon, the country could. And the more decent individual sat there for 29 months.

Here are some of my favorite quotes and moments of 2006:

There must be something in the water in Washington. How else can you explain obscure politicians even thinking about running for president?

The legal fees for convicted Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling remind us again of why lawyers are the subject of jokes and derision.

Don't get me wrong. Some of my best friends are lawyers. In Washington, you run into one on about every block. While I admit to laughing at some jokes about the profession, I have to admit I was thinking about law school long ago.

The latest upheaval for voters to fathom is the sudden emergence of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois as a promising presidential candidate.

Here is an early look at the premature run for president in 2008 already underway.