The real reason Bernard Kerik dropped out? Those mean, nasty, tricksy Democrats would have been rude to him during his hearings.

Mr. Kerik said on Saturday that he believed he could have made it through the confirmation process, but decided that the process would be a burden to the administration.

“It would have been messy, ugly and an embarrassment to President Bush, so I withdrew my name,” he said.

What a load of crap. You know, the thing that continually disappoints me about this administration is how it refuses to use the power it has.

They dicked around on the intelligence reform bill while 9/11 families stood outside and asked why their loved ones died for nothing. They nominate Kerik and then drop him like a potato that’s not just hot, it’s rotten. The president is sitting around on his hands like he can’t do anything to move Congress, and Denny the Meatpuppet is talking about being unable to bring a bill to the floor.

And they talk about a mandate?

C’mon.

Does anybody seriously think if they had really wanted Kerik, or the intelligence bill for that matter, they couldn’t have made it happen? When they can fill the airwaves for a week with horrible tales about how liberals are trying to steal their Christmas trees? When they can hijack an entire election campaign by saying the word “lesbian” over and over?

Look, you’ve got the power, you use it to knock some bodies down, otherwise you just look like a puss. Think what Lyndon Johnson would have done in this situation. Eventually, the party’s base is going to get sick of this bumbling around and demand to know when Santa is coming for them. For our sake, I hope it’s soon.

A.