His Royal Highness, denied
It's great to be the King. George W. Bush figured that out a long time ago. So it must have come as a shock when his demand that a busy HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane on Interstate 395 in Virginia be reserved for his personal use during rush hour the other day was denied. HOV lanes are normally reserved for buses and cars with more than one person inside. Shutting it down so Bush's limousine could speed along unencumbered would have caused massive traffic jams and inconvenienced thousands of commuters.
The urgent national business that required that the President be given exclusive use of the HOV lane? Going to a fundraiser for beleagured U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., he of "Macaca" fame, whose own sister recently published a book detailing his many failings. Perhaps an hour in D.C. rush hour traffic will show the President the error of his ways in starving the Federal government (and states) of the revenues they need to provide the services (like more and better rail passenger service) needed in a 21st century economy. But don't count on it.