Unless there is explosive, previously undisclosed information under that piece of mouldy cheese in the corner, the “state’s” accusations against the Redevelopment Agency parallel the following scenario:
Mr. and Mrs. Leopard are charged with giving birth to a baby leopard with one more spot than permitted by state law.
The smoky, cloudy, hazy charges issued by a researcher in Sacramento remind me of Washington history:
Do you remember the differences between the Watergate scandal that brought down President Nixon and its successor, the notorious Whitewater scandal, which was supposed to at least severely wound President Clinton and Hillary?
For now, let us put aside the not-incidental fact that the media detested Mr. Nixon and still craves a pat on the head or a wink from Mr. Clinton.
Watergate amounted to stealing a bicycle in a ghost town. The wayward Whitewater real estate scandal was far more serious.
Watergate is historic, is remembered, is indelibly inked into American annals.
Whitewater ranks somewhere behind a runaway dog named Wally making a mess on an abandoned wall in Walla Walla.
The crucial distinction:
Watergate was the easiest story on the planet to tell in one sentence: Hotel break-in.
Whitewater was impossible to relate in fewer than a dozen circuitous, breathtakingly lengthy sentences smothered by layers of vagueness.
If even an important story cannot be told in one sentence, it usually will not have legs, and it will fade swiftly.
Sacramento’s insinuations against the Redevelopment Agency smack of Whitewater in a single respect: Too dense to relate properly to even patient listeners.
Now let us sit back and watch while wishing each of you a Christmas crammed with merriment.
