One of the good things, and also one of the bad things, about working at home is that I can watch tv if I feel like it. So yesterday I decided that Richard Clarke's testimony would be sufficiently important that I would work it into my busy schedule. Well worth it.

First of all, he apologized. You rarely hear anyone, let alone terrorism czars, apologize for anything without saying they were sorry you got mad at them, so that was cool. It was also cool that later on CNN a widow of someone who died in the Twin Towers said that she wasn't interested in an apology and figured that the government should have been better at protecting us. The cool part came when she said that our terrorism efforts and the subsequent apology were "just lame." Lame is now a real word? Teriffic.

The commission seems to benefit, like many instituitions would, from the leadership of a person from New Jersey. Why can't more Republicans be like Tom Kean? I could get into lower taxes if people weren't such jerks about it. Everyone else could use a little of Tom's disciplining - the questioning was very partisan.

Democrats began by praising Clarke for his apology and his service and then - especially Bob Kerrey, who all but offered Clarke a new job at the New School - gave long speeches about how GWB and his lackeys had screwed up. Fine, but, isn't that Clarke's job? The Commission asks questions, no? Former Congressman Tim Roemer was the lone Dem who didn't flatter Clarke with effusive praise before asking his question, and he did ask what I thought was the most interesting question: If everyone had listened to you, could you have prevented the attack on the World Trade Center?

On the other end of the spectrum was former Illinois Governor James Thompson, who tried to insist that Clarke was joining the Kerry Campaign. This led to the highlight of the afternoon, Clarke's under-oath pledge to never serve in a Kerry administration. Though I can bet he'll be voting for him.