Clearing the air.

• Author: Roberts, Keith
• Position: Letter to the Editor

Every once in a while, The Washington Monthly publishes an article that justifies the magazine's entire existence. I remember, years ago, a marvelous piece that described the stations of indignant denial, prevarication, trimming, excuse-making, and illness that public figures inevitably pass through when they're caught. With David Whitman's non-partisan analysis of the fate of Bush's Clear Skies initiative, you have done it again ("Partly Sunny," December 2004). His article should be required reading for all policy wonks, especially environmentalists. It makes clear...