Memory Problems of the Powerful

Along with Alberto Gonzalez, it seems that earl-stage Alzheimer's Disease has struck the Vice President. The nice thing about the "I don't recall" line is it keeps the person who uses it from having to take responsibility once it is revealed that perhaps recollection might have been warranted. It's a curiously legalistic dodge, the kind of thing politicians and mobsters have in common. For the party of personal responsibility, it always seems to be for other people.