A recent poll by the Pew Research Center shows more Americans are optimistic about the economy and a majority believe the war on Iraq helped in the campaign against terrorism.

And W's approval rating remains near 70 percent in most polls.

That's not particularly good news for Democrats, and I can understand their desire to drag W down.

But this flap over the aircraft carrier? It's just nonsense.

Bush flew out to the USS Abraham Lincoln to personally thank the troops and address the American people about the end of the war in Iraq.

No big deal, right?

Not according to some o' dem ol' Dems.

Sen. Robert Byrd, of West Virginia, took to the Senate floor and made a very eloquent, impassioned - albeit inane - speech.

Here are a couple quotes:

"I am loath to think of an aircraft carrier being used as an advertising backdrop for a presidential political slogan, and yet that is what I saw."

He's loath, and:

"President Bush's address to the American people announcing combat victory in Iraq deserved to be marked with solemnity, not extravagance; with gratitude to God, not self-congratulatory gestures. ... As I watched the president's fighter jet swoop down onto the deck of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, I could not help but contrast the reported simple dignity of President Lincoln at Gettysburg with the flamboyant showmanship of President Bush aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln."

What a crock.

I especially liked the response of a senior White House official who said, "Bring it on. If they think there is something to be gained by investigating and criticizing the president for going out to welcome the troops home, they are even more ridiculous than I thought."

I couldn't have said it better.

But as ridiculous as Byrd's position was, he was one-upped by Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California.

He asked the General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, to find out the cost of the president's flight.

The Demos claim the president's visit delayed the ship's arrival by a day, causing a million dollars in taxpayer expense by forcing an extra day of air patrols and keeping the crew at sea an extra day.

They also accused the president of delaying the arrival of the sailors to their families.

Not true, according to Navy officials, who said that the arrival date was May 2. Even though the ship was ahead of schedule, it couldn't have docked any earlier because of scheduling and security concerns.

Besides, all the sailors' - 5,000 of them - families would have had to be notified of an early arrival.

"The operating cost of an aircraft carrier is about a million dollars a day," the Navy official said. "But it got where it was supposed to be on time."

Nonetheless, Waxman wants the investigation and even suggested that Bush should reimburse the taxpayers.

I admire Waxman for his role of watchdog for the taxpayers.

And you know what?

I will wholeheartedly and steadfastly endorse his position on the Bush trip. I will demand reimbursement to the treasury of funds hijacked by the W administration in this heinous squandering of resources. I will demand retribution for the arrogant and arduous burden placed squarely on the backs of U.S. taxpayers.

(I was trying to sound like a politician there. Pretty good, eh?)

Yeah, I will do all that. But there's one little catch.

Waxman must apply the same level of fiscal scrutiny to his buddy, the Honorable Sen. Byrd.

You see, Byrd is a living legend.

While Democrats have long been known for their liberal (pun intended) spending habits, Byrd is capable of making even his peers blush when it comes to swilling from the pork barrel.

It is his spending habits that make him legendary.

Citizens Against Government Waste have labeled Byrd "The King of Pork."

Last year alone, Byrd was able to secure $232 million in pork barrel spending for his home state. That boils down to about $128 for every man, woman and child in West Virginia.

Byrd, 84, took office for the first time in 1958.

Tom Schatz is the president of CAGW. Here's a quote from him back in December, when Byrd was decrying the lack of funding for Homeland Security and other budget items.

"As usual, the King of Pork, Senator Robert Byrd, and his tax-and-spend colleagues couldn't control themselves. They have splurged past the already-increased October $686 billion budget agreement, as well as the $40 billion emergency spending package passed in September - which itself was double what the president requested after September 11. Much of this spending is non-defense related, and the taxpayer has spent more than enough already for these issues."

Byrd is no stranger to CAGW. (Byrd refers to CAGW as "pecker woods.") Their Web site, cagw.org, actually has a page called "Byrd Droppings."

You can check it out here:

www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=news_byrddroppings

It's fascinating reading, believe me. Here are some of the good senator's favorite projects:

Robert C. Byrd Drive, from Beckley to Sophia (Byrd's hometown); Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center of West Virginia; Robert C. Byrd Cancer Research Center; Robert C. Byrd Technology Center at Alderson-Broaddus College; Robert C. Byrd Hardwood Technologies Center near Princeton; Robert C. Byrd Bridge between Huntington and Chesapeake, Ohio; Robert C. Byrd addition to the lodge at Oglebay Park, Wheeling; Robert C. Byrd Community Center, Pine Grove; Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarships; Robert C. Byrd Expressway, U.S. 52 near Weirton; Robert C. Byrd Institute in Charleston; Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing; Robert C. Byrd Visitor Center at Harpers Ferry; National Historic Park; Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse; Robert C. Byrd Academic and Technology Center; Robert C. Byrd United Technical Center; Robert C. Byrd Federal Building; Robert C. Byrd Hilltop Office Complex; Robert C. Byrd Library; Robert C. Byrd Learning Resource Center; Robert C. Byrd Rural Health Center; Robert C. Byrd Clinical Addition to the veteran's hospital in Huntington; Robert C. Byrd Industrial Park, Hardy County; Robert C. Byrd Scholastic Recognition Award; and the Robert C. Byrd Community Center in the naval station, Sugar Grove.

Get the picture?

CAGW identifies this serial spending as "the first person in CAGW's Congressional Pig Book history to obtain more than $1 billion in pork for his state."

So yeah, I'll go along with Waxman's demand that W refund the cost of his trip the aircraft carrier.

Right after he demands that Sen. Byrd, the king of incontinent government spending, give a billion dollars back to the taxpayers. [[In-content Ad]]