Whoops.

Reagan Budget Chief Charged With Fraud

David A. Stockman, the former budget director for President Reagan, was indicted today on charges that he covered up the dire financial state of his company as it was headed into bankruptcy.

I was a Stockman fan, way back when. His "weak claims, not weak clients" motto for spending cuts represented something honorable and important. His commitment to cutting the size of government along with taxes seemed both sincere and all-to--rare in the Reagan White House. he was fighting all the right fights, even if he also lost them all.

That said, when you've gone down in history as the creator of the Rosy Scenario that, more or less, disguised the true forecasts of deficit sizes under a deceptive fog of "we'll probably fix this stuff later" you should probably be more careful than the average bear about getting back into the headlines under suspicion of financial fraud. Y'know, Bill Clinton should make extra sure not to get caught with a prostitute, Bernie Goetz should make extra sure not to carry around an unlicensed gun, David Stockman should make extra sure not to commit financial fraud. That kind of thing. If you're not sure which way the headline-writers on your obituary are going to go, don't resolve the ambiguity decisively in favor of your now-reinforced misdeeds...