Spencer Ackerman passes on the latest idiocy from Trent Lott.
[A]sked if people should leave Washington, D.C., during the month of August, Lott replied that “I think it would be good to leave town in August, and it would probably be good to stay out until September the 12th.”
(Roll Call‘s John McArdle‘s original report is behind a subscription firewall.)
Ackerman quips, “There’s irresponsibility. There’s demagoguery. And then there’s Trent Lott.”
Steve Benen agrees wondering, “What, exactly, are people who live and work in DC supposed to do in response to comments like these? How about families who’ve planned August vacations to DC before the kids have to go back to school?”
Presumably, D.C. residents will ignore Lott. Still, there may come a time when government officials have a legitimate terror threat warning that needs to be heeded. After years of color coded alerts, gut feelings, and false alarms, though, my hunch is that it will fall on deaf ears, reacting much as Andrew Sullivan does to news that we’re turning the corner in Iraq.
