Can't really top Molly Ivins today, although - if you need a little context on the Negroponte appointment, Kevin Drum thoughtfully provided a link to this pre- 9/11 article...

Tax Day Reflection: The very conservative Christian Alabama Governor Bob Riley lost a lot of political friends last summer when he declared that Alabama's tax structure placed an inordinate burden on the state's poor, and was not very - oooh - Christian. "'I've spent a lot of time studying the New Testament, and it has three philosophies: love God, love each other, and take care of the least among you,' he said. 'I don't think anyone can justify putting an income tax on someone who makes $4,600 a year.'" Yep, you coulda knocked a lot of us over with a feather. A Conservative Christian politician not just speaking up for the poor, but putting his political pittuty on the line for them. Groups like the Christian Coalition, predictably speaking up for wealthy conservatives, launched an all-out attack on Governor Riley, and on Susan Pace Hamill, the lawyer whose law journal article actually inspired his revelation. She discusses how she came to write the article, in the April "Sojourners" magazine. It's a rather strangely edited piece, but still informative. And it provides this link to the original law journal article.

By the way, the tax cuts worked for Bush and Cheney. So there!