Great Work! (if you can get it)

The USAToday has a scoop today resulting from a rather standard Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) filing. It seems that in paying to promote the No Child Left Behind Act, the Bushies hired a wellish-known talking head to espouse their claims. You've seen him before on CNN, Fox, MSNBC and otherwise. He's not especially smart, not especially concise, but he is especially bald and quite well paid, as it turns out. Not exactly small potatoes - $240K. As Greg Toppo wrote, the contract he got from his FOIA request "required commentator Armstrong Williams 'to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts,' and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during (his show) in 2004." Big story? Probably not, especially given the past payola scams the Bushies have been excused for endorsing. But this goofball's off most cable networks' speed dials, one should hope. If you're looking for a quick rundown of his career before it's officially over, I quote once again from Toppo's piece: "Williams, 45, a former aide to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is one of the top black conservative voices in the nation. He hosts The Right Side on TV and radio, and writes op-ed pieces for newspapers, including USA TODAY, while running a public relations firm, Graham Williams Group."