Getting Ridiculous with Teflon Bob

I've made it pretty clear that I'm not a fan of Alabama Governor Bob Riley or his administration. But there is one thing I like about Teflon Bob & Co. Whenever the governor steps in some doo-doo, his spokesmen never fail to bring chuckles with their responses to the press.

Here are some examples:

* "That's ridiculous. The governor is very proud of the investment that was made in Huntsville." Spokesman Dax Swatek, on the Huntsville biotech deal (Birmingham News, Feb. 1, 2006).

* "It is ridiculous to think that Governor Riley's support of this project was in any way connected to that donation." Spokesman Josh Blades, on the Huntsville biotech deal (Birmingham News, April 27, 2006).

* "The contribution had nothing to do with them getting the $50 million. It's ludicrous." Blades, on the Huntsville biotech deal (Birmingham News, July 29, 2006).

* "Swatek said it would be ridiculous to think that Riley's support of the project was in any way connected to the donation . . . " (Mobile Press-Register, January 26, 2006).

* "The claim in this footnote is simply ludicrous and obviously untrue. The whole campaign was $13.8 million approximately." Spokesman David Ford, on a U.S. Senate report that $13 million of Mississippi Choctaw money went to help Riley's election effort. (Huntsville Times, June 24, 2006).

[Note: This story goes on to say, "Ford declined to comment on the possibility that (former Choctaw chief Phillip) Martin could have spent money supporting Riley while not directly contributing to the campaign." I bet Ford declined to comment; probably became mute. Kudos to reporter Taylor Bright for asking a tough followup question of the Riley crew. Doesn't seem to happen often.]

With all that money that evidently was funneled through Jack Abramoff to the Riley campaign, you would think Teflon Bob could afford to hire a semi-articulate spokesman. I guess not. How ridiculous, almost ludicrous.