Demonstrating once again, as if any futher demonstration was needed, that there is no more honor in the land, a long time friend of the President's released parts of secret tapes he made of their private conversations.

One snippet, which could be understood several different ways, was naturally understood by the ladies and gentlemen of the press as negatively as possible. For the record, what Mr. Bush said, in the context of discussing then-Vice-President Gore's marijuana use, was:

"Do you want your little kid to say: 'Hey daddy, President Bush tried marijuana,I think I will?' That’s the message we’ve been sending out. I wouldn’t answer the marijuana question... I don’t want any kid doing what I tried to do 30 years ago. And I mean that. It doesn’t matter if it’s LSD, cocaine, pot, any of those things, because if I answer one, then there will be another one. And I just am not going to answer those questions. And it may cost me the election."

These things do cut both ways, of course. We do not hear him agonizing about how marijuana use might affect his "political viability;" in fact, he's reconcilled to the fact that it might. Instead, he's worried -- candidly and in private -- about how his example as President would affect children.

Just as revealing of the man is this quote: "I can't kick gays, because I'm a sinner. How can I differentiate sin?"

Pity some journalists can't grasp that perspective.