What a scene. Twenty-one outraged Senators berating former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay- or "Kenny Boy" as one Senator called him- about shredded files, back-dated documents, hidden partnerships, self-dealing, accounting shenanigans, vaporized pension plans, and other abuses. Of course, the high dudgeon was all for the television cameras since Lay took the Fifth.

Members of Congress are right to excoriate Enron for cooking the books. But they should also turn their sarcasm on themselves. Washington's fiscal irresponsibility Washington is also appalling. Imagine, despite the twin pincers of a recession and 9/11, the House and the Senate failed to pass an economic stimulus bill last year. Congress practiced the art of fiscal dithering rather than rise to the occasion.

And now we have the spectacle of the Bush Administration's budget. Deficit spending is back big time, although the Administration wants to hide the red ink in later years by dipping into Social Security. For instance, the budget proposes a 14% hike in defense spending. Most people understand that the fight against terrorism will cost money. But much of the increase in the defense budget seems to be targeted at a contractor wish list that's been on the shelf since the end of the Cold War. And remember, the Bush budget is only a baseline. Congress will add its own tax-and-spend policies.

The era of federal budget surpluses was nice while it lasted. It looks like Washington is wrapping itself in the flag to return to its deficit spending ways.