prince of darkness denies own existence. now that is a good headline. it's an amusing story, as stories by dana milbank often are. but it's disturbing in its own way too. i think the idea that there's no such thing as neo-conservatism, and this was an extreme simplification drummed up by opponents of the bush administration, could be an interesting approach. but perle here, one soon sees, is ill. morally diseased. he simply cannot take responsibility for anything, is in this continuous strategy of denying responsibility for...the reports he signed, the memos he wrote, the title of his own book, and so on and on. any position taken by someone like that, any action, is a node of evil. of course, that you have no responsibility for what you do or say could allow you to do or say anything. but also, any actual policies and procedures, much less wars and so on, for which no one is responsible begin to grow toward absolute disaster.