Pattern Recognition

Poor Mel Martinez. Seems his "staff" has a habit of writing inflammatory memos and putting them in the wrong hands—unbeknownst, of course, to Mel. From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

In last year's Senate primary, a mailer from Martinez's campaign accused his top rival, Bill McCollum, of trying to appease "the radical homosexual lobby" for his support of a failed federal hate-crimes bill. McCollum, a staunch conservative, criticized the mailer and said Martinez was unfit to serve in Washington. Martinez defended the mailer and won the primary.

Weeks later, Martinez blamed a member of his staff for sending out a campaign press release that described federal agents as "armed thugs" for seizing Elián González from his relatives' Miami home. The Senate nominee called the wording "inappropriate" and promised to do a better job of watching what comes out under his name.

There's a disturbing pattern emerging here, suggesting either mendacity or an inability of Martinez to manage his staff. Either way, it doesn't bode well for a man who promised to tailor his Senate tenure as a trusted centrist.

My bet's on mendacity.