From the bottom

After coming up with some sexual dirt on various congressfolk, Larry Flynt was called a bottom feeder. "Yeah, I'm a bottom feeder," he answered. "And look what I found down there.

In that light, let us take another look at the upcoming Kitty Kelley book.

We've already announced our fear that this work might drag the world into the morass of the Paul Bonacci story, an unverifiable mess which can do no-one any good. Fortunately, most folks right now are looking at the coke-at-Camp-David tale, which comes to us via Sharon Bush, ex-wife of the unlovely Neil.

But did she ever truly say such a thing to Kitty?

Sharon has denied that she ever did. However, two first-hand sources -- including her own lawyer, Lou Colasuonno -- say that the conversation did indeed take place.

This sort of thing has happened to me -- and probably to most writers -- albeit on a much more modest level. Sources sometimes regret having saying what they have said, and thus try to pretend that they were misquoted. Sort of like Hagrid in the first "Harry Potter" movie: "I shouldn't have said that..."

Okay, so let us presume that the interview did take place. Why would Sharon backtrack?

Take a look at this old article (and never mind the obnoxious site warehousing it at the moment), which details Sharon's messy divorce from Neil. Ever the gentleman, Neil offered her the royal sum of $1,000 a month. She wanted more. And she threatened to write a tell-all book about our ruling family. Hence, lunch with Kitty.

How much do you want to bet that Sharon no longer has to worry about living on a grand a month?

Of course, this turn of events brings us to a knottier question: If she was holding the family up for dough at the time she spoke to Kitty, how do we know Sharon wasn't hyperbolizing? "Sweeten the deal, Neil, or I'll tell the world that W did coke at Camp David..."

Personally, I'd be careful about trying to strongarm anyone connected with a family known for its CIA ties...