And Now Diane Sawyer Reports on Hal Rogers

Last night's ABC News with Diane Sawyer featured yet another story with a Kentucky connection. This piece focused on the election of Rep. Hal Rogers to Chair the House Appropriations Committee.

It was an extremely cynical piece, even by mainstream media standards. The focus was that by selecting Rogers -- the so-called "Prince of Pork" -- Republicans lack any credibility on their earmark moratorium.

There is another way of looking at it altogether -- one that ABC's liberal bias precluded it from grasping. Rogers refined the procurement of earmarks to a fine art. He was masterful.

Who, then, is better equipped to curtail the process than Rogers? He knows all the tricks. It is no different than having a 12-step meeting led by someone in recovery. The Republicans' selection of Rogers was not only brilliant, it was the necessary prerequisite to making the earmark moratorium work.

The ABC story was, to put it mildly, dubious that Rogers would personally fore swear off of earmarks. Rogers patiently explained that the voters had spoken clearly about their opposition to earmarks, and Republicans had heard and would honor that mandate. Listening to the voters -- it is a concept as foreign to an ABC reporter as it is to most Democrats.

On the Money Trail With ABC's Brian Ross

While waiting for the Smash Mouth concert, we ran into ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross (pictured below), who is a really nice guy notwithstanding that he was investigating the party we were about to attend. We told him we were from Louisville, and he smiled and said he knew someone from there he liked. Diane Sawyer, we guessed.

We also visited with Ross's field producer, Eric Eslocker (pictured left), who gained fame at the Democratic Convention when Denver police arrested him on a public sidewalk while he was overseeing the filming of a piece on corporate contributions to Democrats. Eric seemed happy to be in Minneapolis, perhaps because he understood the Minneapolis police and Republicans would be better behaved.

By the way, we didn't have any special connections to get into the Smash Mouth concert. We just went up to the door of Aqua and a gracious lady added our names to the attendee list.