THE VILLAGE IDIOT AND MOLLY IVINS

A Texan correspondent points out that, given her educational background, Molly Ivins’ hick routine is more than a little phony. He also retells a story he heard from someone in the state capitol in Austin: “Then-Governor Bush was hosting a party. Ivins, as an all too prominent journalist, was in attendance and probably a bit too inebriated. She made a point of talking loudly and obscenely in the governor’s presence, playing the gauche rustic. Without losing a beat, Bush turned to her and said, “You sure have come a long way from Smith [college], Molly.” Apparently, that shut her up. It takes a village idiot.