A political commentator was paid $240,000 by an ad agency hired by the Department of Education to promote the "No Child Left Behind" act. He has now been canned.

It is worth noting, perhaps, that Armstrong Williams, in addition to being a talking head, is also "a PR specialist with his own firm. Not too long ago, Michael Jackson called him for advice," according to talking head David Corn.

The Bush administration says they don't usually do this sort of thing, though USA Today points out that most administrations are eventually accused of using taxpayer money to promote political goals (Strangely, they leave out any examples from the Clinton years -- like Vice President Gore making fund raising calls using government-owned facilities).

For our part, Gnomon maintains our ruggedly fierce editorial independence... Of course, nobody's ever offered us squat. But honest: We'd tell you if they did. Actually, we'd probably brag about it.