Treadmill clues

Irrefutable contentions about President Bush, Islam, and Africa | Marvin Olasky

Players of the venerable board game Clue know the moment when the party's over. A contestant may say, "Colonel Mustard in the dining room with the revolver," and be shown surreptitiously a card that kills that theory. But when the next participant says, "Mr. Bush in the conservatory with the lead pipe," and other players say, "I can't refute that," it's time to give in.

That's how I felt when reading Bruce Bartlett's Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006). The desire for alliteration sometimes leads to over-the-top titles, and words like bankrupt and betrayed are too strong. And yet, when Mr. Bartlett lambasts the Bush record on education, drug legislation, pork barrel spending, and other expand-the-government programs—well, I can't refute that.