Even tin-eared people get it when the torches and pitchforks come out.

Congress Retreats Over Jet Purchase WSJ 8/11/09 By BRODY MULLINS and T.W. FARNAM
WASHINGTON -- House leaders late Monday dropped plans to spend $550 million on Air Force passenger planes for use by senior government officials, a sum that more than doubled the Pentagon's official request and had drawn strong public criticism.
"If the Department of Defense does not want these aircraft, they will be eliminated from the bill," said Rep. John Murtha (D., Pa.), the chairman of the House panel that sought the aircraft order.****He pretends that he didn't KNOW that the DoD didn't want these?When you're a total ass, saving a little face is necessary.**** ...only $220 million to purchase one Gulfstream plane and three Boeing Co. aircraft, which was the original request by Department of Defense officials. Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California supported Mr. Murtha's decision to retreat from the larger order, her spokesman said.****How do "spokesmen" keep a straight face? They must be lawyers: trained and allowed to lie in public for their clients.****...The Department of Defense had asked Congress for money to purchase four planes: One Gulfstream V and one new business-class equivalent of a Boeing 737. It also sought the authority to purchase two 737s that were already being leased by government officials....The House plan to buy eight planes was tucked into a $636 billion bill to fund the Defense Department for the next fiscal year. That measure passed 400 to 30....a spokesman for Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said Friday that spending on the extra planes would force the military "to take money from things we do need to fund and redirect it for things we don't need. And in a time of war we just can't afford that."...