Mickey Kaus accuses Hillary of "robo-senatoring." I like that word. Perhaps it will go in Bill Safires political dictionary one day.

The cynicism is clear -- if there's another terrorist strike, Hillary can say it was because the Republicans didn't earmark that extra $150 million for interoperable radios. (New York can't fix its radio problem if there's no federal grant?) But mainly what comes through is state-of-the-art lack of imagination. It's Robo-Senatoring. All the mechanicals are in place: 1) The pervasive partisan disingenuousness (hasn't Bush done anything right? Maybe he's done some things right and some things wrong?); 2) The empty stridency and pathetic speechwriting flourishes ("the frontlines are at our front doors ... rhetoric won't stop the spread of anthrax"); 3) The bogus survey, in which New York mayors, shockingly, complain that they're not getting enough federal money; 4) The for-show legislation, with a "Public Private Task Force" and a "Counter-Terror Technology Fund." ... There's not a glimmer of humanity or wit in the whole thing.