WASHING HIS HANDS BEFORE THE MULTITUDE: It seems that the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, having already paid out huge sums for its own robed criminals, doesn't want to be associated with Bush's Latest Folly.

The Roman Catholic diocese of Dallas is setting the record straight: Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers has never been a Catholic. A review of records for such sacraments as baptism, first Eucharist and confirmation found no evidence that Miers or anyone in her immediate family was Catholic, Bronson Havard, a spokesman for the diocese, said Friday. ...

"We don't normally check records for things like this," said Havard, who also is editor of Texas Catholic newspaper and a deacon, "but this was a prominent situation, we wanted the record to be set straight." The Catholic church does not keep records of people who may occasionally attend their services.

No, but they do count as church members anyone baptized there who hasn't set foot in one since, which is why they continue to claim to be the single largest church in this country. I wonder if this is the same "Bronson Havard" who was such a jerk years ago in our local media? He certainly sounds just as much a loving Christian.

What is interesting is how even the very conservative diocese, obsessively anti-choice (and even anti-birth control, not that most of the membership pays them any attention on that), does not want to be associated with this impending embarrassment to the Prez when her nomination flops like a dead fish. Hence Bronson's imitation of Matthew 27:24, as in the title of this piece.