THE WEEK

□ The FDA, with nothing better to do and, by its own account, not enough money to do it with, has banned the sale of over-the-counter aphrodisiacs, on the grounds that they have not been shown to work. We can’t wait to see the laboratory tests on this one.

□ Michael Dukakis has been a spectacular failure in American politics. Once the Republicans smoked out his Horton/Pledge liberalism, his 17-point July lead vanished. Last year, he tried to run on “competence.” Today he has a 70 per cent “unfavorable” rating in Massachusetts, where he cooked the books to make it seem the budget was balanced. Now he has slashed spending and pleads for new taxes. The Massachusetts bond rating has sunk to 49th, edging only deadbeat Louisiana. Dukakis was a “neo-liberal,” a “problem solver.” Yeah. The neo-liberal category is ready for Madame Tussaud’s. We wonder what “incompetence” would look like.

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William F. Buckley Jr.

□ The FDA, with nothing better to do and, by its own account, not enough money to do it with, has banned the sale of over-the-counter aphrodisiacs, on the grounds that they have not been shown to work. We can’t wait to see the laboratory tests on this one.

□ Michael Dukakis has been a spectacular failure in American politics. Once the Republicans smoked out his Horton/Pledge liberalism, his 17-point July lead vanished. Last year, he tried to run on “competence.” Today he has a 70 per cent “unfavorable” rating in Massachusetts, where he cooked the books to make it seem the budget was balanced. Now he has slashed spending and pleads for new taxes. The Massachusetts bond rating has sunk to 49th, edging only deadbeat Louisiana. Dukakis was a “neo-liberal,” a “problem solver.” Yeah. The neo-liberal category is ready for Madame Tussaud’s. We wonder what “incompetence” would look like.