One Politician to Another: "I'm shocked, shocked I tell you."

No one has every accused Senator Chris Dodd of being an overly bright lad. Of the 100 bulbs in the chandelier of the U. S. Senate, his personal rheostat is turned pretty low though the bottom setting remains without challenge in the hands of our senator. But still, you think he'd know better than to accuse President Bush of playing politics on a political appointment that was sidetracked by the political gambit of politician John Kerry over a political slight during a political campaign.

Senator Dodd, along with fellow 7 watters Kerry and Casey, is requesting an investigation of the recess appointment of Sam Fox as ambassador to Belgium. This, after John Kerry harangued Mr. Fox during his confirmation hearing for a contribution Mr. Fox made to a group that opposed Mr. Kerry's during his presidential bid.

It seems Mr. Fox donated $50,000 to Swift Boat Veterans to support their TV advertisements and public appearances questioning Senator Kerry's record in Vietnam.

Dodd argues that the Senate would have eventually voted against Mr. Fox, though that is likely not true, given the vocal support for Mr. Fox from at least two members of Dodd's party.

This is particularly sad because Senator Dodd has been down exactly this same path before. In 2002, he requested a similar investigation on similar facts and should have learned from the answer: According to the GAO, the president has the power.

But, really, who would expect Dodd to actually learn from experience?