MAGICIANS IN CONGRESS

As David Broder so masterfully describes in today's column (below), there is a lot of funny business going on in the halls of Congress these days. And both Republicans and Democrats share equal measures of the governmental pratfalls.

The government set some spending limits a couple of years back. Based on these limits and a prosperous economy, there are projections of future surpluses. So plans are being made for the extra money: tax cuts, new programs -- you name it.

But wait a minute. Those spending limits can be exceeded if Congress declares an emergency, which is just what it did when it appropriated more money than allowed for next year's official census.

Never mind we've known since the start of the republic there would be a census in 2000. Now it's an official emergency.

Smoke and mirrors? This one makes David Copperfield look like an amateur.