One gets so accusomed to polticians' mealy mouth that it is bracing to hear honest communication. So a toast to FCC Commissioner MacDowell for a blast of recent candor.

The background is that McDowell [corrected] had to decide whether to sit on the AT&T/Bell South merger despite a history of involvement with the companies. The Commission is deadlocked, based on corrosive partisan politics rather than any real legal issue, so his participation is important, and there is a general principle of administrative law called the rule of necessity that favors participation when a conflict of interest is not serious and sensible administration demands it.

So McDowell sought the opinion of his GC, who came up with mush, and the Commissioner declined to participate, explaining:

McDowell said in a statement that [the GC's] memo left him with no confidence or comfort. "I had expected a memorandum making a strong and clear case for my participation. Instead, the [memo] is hesitant, does not acknowledge crucial facts and analyses and concludes by framing this matter as an ethical coin-toss frozen in mid-air.

"I expected the legal equivalent of body armor, I was handed Swiss cheese," he added. "Accordingly, I disqualify myself from this matter. This state of affairs is personally disappointing to me. It appears that the lingering question of my involvement is being used as yet another excuse for delay and inaction."