Good-Government Bandwagon

Senate Democrats have made it official: They intend to try to campaign on the issue of improving the management and operations of the federal government. Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota have been put in charge of the Responsible Governance initiative, aiming to "end the culture of cronyism and corruption that pervades Washington." Doubtless they'll continue to score some short-term points by tapping into post-Katrina anger and resentment about the government's performance. But over the long haul, words like "governance" tend not to resonate with the electorate. Nor do efforts to take power out of the hands of political appointees and turn it over to career bureaucrats.