THE WEEK

There is much head-shaking over the deficit, and here, again, comes Bob Dole. Esquire is the shill this time, with a loving portrait (“Mr. Fairness Doles It Out”). Bob, his admirers tell us, is “courageous,” a “champion of fairness” for whom there is “growing admiration.” What’s he got up his sleeve? A tax increase. Great, the last one worked so well. Wait— there will also be tinkering on the spending side. B-b-but weren’t we promised that the last time? “Dole smiles and says, ‘That must have been between the President and his speech writer.’ ” “Smiles” is just right (a wink woulda been too much). Keep smiling, Bob. Joke’s on us.

For a gal who has been underground for 12 of the past 15 years, Weatherwoman Kathy Boudin sure has some friends in high places. Since the fall of 1981, Miss Boudin has been awaiting trial for her role in the attempted robbery of a Brink’s armored truck in Nyack, New York, that resulted in the deaths of two police officers and a Brink’s guard. The trial finally began last month, and the Washington Post came to Miss Boudin’s defense on February 21 by lavishing more than seventy column inches (plus three photos) on the plight of her and her family. Her mother has suffered; her father has suffered; her three-year-old son has suffered; and—yes—she has suffered. The Post story went particularly heavy on the mother-son angle; it noted that during one stage of her incarceration she was allowed to see and talk with her son, but prison regulations prevented her from touching him. Mother Boudin to Post: “I cannot express in words the pain that such cruelty inflicts on both me and my child.” Now it would be a relief of sorts if some investigative reporter at the Post would think to interview the children of the slain police officers and guard.

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There is much head-shaking over the deficit, and here, again, comes Bob Dole. Esquire is the shill this time, with a loving portrait (“Mr. Fairness Doles It Out”). Bob, his admirers tell us, is “courageous,” a “champion of fairness” for whom there is “growing admiration.” What’s he got up his sleeve? A tax increase. Great, the last one worked so well. Wait— there will also be tinkering on the spending side. B-b-but weren’t we promised that the last time? “Dole smiles and says, ‘That must have been between the President and his speech writer.’ ” “Smiles” is just right (a wink woulda been too much). Keep smiling, Bob. Joke’s on us.

For a gal who has been underground for 12 of the past 15 years, Weatherwoman Kathy Boudin sure has some friends in high places. Since the fall of 1981, Miss Boudin has been awaiting trial for her role in the attempted robbery of a Brink’s armored truck in Nyack, New York, that resulted in the deaths of two police officers and a Brink’s guard. The trial finally began last month, and the Washington Post came to Miss Boudin’s defense on February 21 by lavishing more than seventy column inches (plus three photos) on the plight of her and her family. Her mother has suffered; her father has suffered; her three-year-old son has suffered; and—yes—she has suffered. The Post story went particularly heavy on the mother-son angle; it noted that during one stage of her incarceration she was allowed to see and talk with her son, but prison regulations prevented her from touching him. Mother Boudin to Post: “I cannot express in words the pain that such cruelty inflicts on both me and my child.” Now it would be a relief of sorts if some investigative reporter at the Post would think to interview the children of the slain police officers and guard.