MARTINEZ SLAMMED; SHOULD HAVE KNOWN

The past couple of days Florida newspapers have been correctly savaging freshman U.S. Senator Mel Martinez. Earlier this week, after claiming it didn't come from his office, an aide admitted that he wrote the controversial memo that played up the political benefits of Congress becoming involved in the Terri Schiavo case and how it could be "a tough issue for Democrats". The aide, counsel Brian Darling, resigned.

Worse yet, Martinez handed the memo over to a fellow senator, Tom Harkin (D - Iowa) claiming he thought it was talking points and didn't read it prior to pulling it out of his pocket. My questions are this: HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE, AND HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK WE ARE???

Some samplings of the statewide editorial reaction:

Lakeland Ledger - Sunday:

In the fewer than 100 days that Mel Martinez has been in office, he's made quite a name for himself. Too bad Florida's freshman senator is apparently looked upon as a sideshow attraction to be viewed with pity, wonder, fear or amazement.

In just over three months, Martinez has turned his office-holding abilities into a candidate for a political version of America's Funniest Home Videos.

Florida Today (Melbourne) - Friday:

The memo baldly states what polls show most Americans already see:

The efforts of Congress and President Bush to slap down the courts, which repeatedly said the severely brain-damaged woman should be allowed to die, were nothing but self-serving vote-hustling.

Orlando Sentinel - Friday:

...it is profoundly disappointing that an office led by Mr. Martinez would stoop so low.

The Schiavo memo betrays serious problems with the management culture that Mr. Martinez has established among those working for him in Washington. It raises troubling questions about the kind of people he has entrusted to help him serve the people of Florida.

St. Petersburg Times - Saturday:

Filling Florida legend Bob Graham's shoes was never going to be an easy task for Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, but nobody could have expected this catastrophe. His performance in office has been an absolute embarrassment and he is quickly ripping apart the spirit of common-sense politics in Florida.

Since leaving the Bush administration and announcing his run for the Senate, good ol' Mel has been a living, breathing puppet for the White House. But the problem is deeper than just his role as loyal lapdog. His ethics fall well short of what we expect from our leaders and he seems to have no clue as to what is going on around him.

South Florida Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale) - Today:

There's a disturbing pattern emerging here, suggesting either mendacity or an inability of Martinez to manage his staff. Either way, it doesn't bode well for a man who promised to tailor his Senate tenure as a trusted centrist.

Tampa Tribune - Friday:

It's bad enough that the memo politicized the Schiavo case. It's terrible that it was put in writing. That it specifically targeted Bill Nelson is not a healthy sign for Florida.
But that is what we are coming to expect from a senator whose staff takes radical positions and is willing to do most anything to win.

Martinez apologized to Nelson's chief of staff. He should apologize to Nelson personally. He owes Floridians an apology, too, for allowing so public a wedge to be driven between our two senators.

More important, he needs to begin taking responsibility for his office and quit imitating Sgt. Schultz from the old ``Hogan's Heroes'' television show: ``I know no-thing!''

This was one of the best; underneath the close of the editorial, there were side-by-side pics of Martinez and John Banner, the actor who played Nazi Sgt. Hans Georg Schultz, in his "Hogan's Heroes" costume.

God, I miss Bob Graham...