IS TOM RIDGE ON FREEDOM CRACK??

The routine got old pretty quick. By the time Bush's poll numbers started to sink in late May, it  wasn't a surprise when John Ashcroft held a press conference to remind people about terrorism,  pointing to a shiny new "most wanted" list of old suspects. Ditto when the Democratic convention  was getting underway, about to suck the national media into its vortex, and Dept. of Homeland Security  Sec. Tom Ridge popped up against the Boston skyline, reminding people that these were dangerous  times. And when, three hours before Kerry's acceptance speech, Pakistan announced the capture  of an al Qaeda operative, the timing was not only unremarkable, it was expected .If anyone grumbled about the fishy timing, Bush administration officials  feigned disbelief that anyone could even think they'd ever play politics with terror. And until  last week, most people seemed eager to give them the benefit of the doubt. [more ]