I know a girl who got fired from her job for stealing office supplies - post-it notes, legal pads, Sharpies, a spool of blank discs. It sucks to be fired for commiting less than $30 of misdeeds, but that is what happens in the actual world where actual Americans have actual jobs instead of cushy sinecures.

Now if Paul Wolfowitz had stolen all those legal pads, he would probably be getting the presidential medal of honor.

Instead, after serving as Deputy Defense Secretary and leading us bravely into the morass of lies and mismanagement in Iraq, Bush has suggested handing him the reigns to the World Bank.

Some critics seem to be suggesting that at least this is a good way to get Wolfowitz out of the Pentagon. But couldn't we have gotten him out just by firing him?

For future reference, perhaps a striped tie or engraved plaque might be a more suitable retirement present than handing off the World Bank, one of the most powerful (and troubled) financial institutions on the planet.