Bush sends staff back to ethics class

This has probably got to be the king of all PR stunts! The irony of George W. Bush sending anyone to "ethics school" is enought to give the average man convulsions if he were to think about it for too long.

Here's the cockamamie story:

With his chief political aide under investigation as part of a probe into the public unmasking of a CIA operative, President Bush is sending his staff back to school -- ethics school.

Bush is requiring his executive office staff to attend refresher courses on ethics and handling classified materials, according to a White House memo.

"The President has made clear his expectation that each member of his Executive Office of the President (EOP) staff adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of all rules governing ethical conduct for EOP staff," states the memo sent to Bush's staff.

Staff members with security clearances will attend mandatory sessions next week, and those without security clearances will attend mandatory sessions the following week.

The memo went to all EOP staff, which numbers about 3,000, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

The refresher course comes as Bush's top aide, Karl Rove, is under investigation and as Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, faces indictments in connection with the outing of a CIA operative. (More)

{Editor's Note: shout out to John for sending me this story, thus completing my weekend.}