Nothing much gained by Congress' he said-he said exercise
Next up for Congress will no doubt be an investigation into whether that beagle really deserved best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
After all, no beagle has ever won before and this does indeed raise eyebrows.
With all due respect to our elected representatives, that's got as much to do with the price of fish as the he said-he said between Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee on Wednesday.
Congress is supposed to set health policy for this country, but determining whether Clemens took steroids and HGH -- the East Coast equivalent of bringing in Britney Spears to determine her mental competency -- doesn't seem to fall into the above category.
That was not the case on March 18, 2005, when the House Government Reform Committee grilled Bud Selig, Don Fehr, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, and by doing so forced Major League Baseball to finally get serious about its insidious drug problem, and, in turn, drug testing.
Many accused Congress of grandstanding, but those hearings produced palpable results, forced policy changes and -- most important -- shed light on a horrible problem affecting the youth of America and afflicting an increasing percentage of society.
Steroids are killing teens across the USA, and that specific day of testimony three years ago probably did more to shed light on this epidemic than any single event of the last three decades.
For that, the committee should be congratulated.
It spurred legislation in individual states, it caused high school coaches to think seriously about what they've seen, and it forced parents to ask questions and start paying attention.
Grandstanding? Not at all.
Call me Pollyanna, but I believe many of our elected politicians are in it for the good they can do and to serve and protect.
Yet, there wasn't any of that feeling to Wednesday's interrogation of Clemens and McNamee, which lasted nearly five hours.
The best moment, without question, was the opening tribute to Tom Lantos and the moment of silence on his behalf, educating millions of baseball fans about a man who truly served humanity.
As for the circus itself, several members of the committee chose not to participate.
Rep. Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat, said, for example, she planned to work on something that had a direct impact on her constituents' lives. She instead attended a meeting on working families' economics.
Said Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, a North Carolina Republican: "This isn't a hearing, it's a show trial, and it's another reason why people are fed up with Congress. We're facing huge challenges in housing, government spending, taxes and illegal immigration.
"Congress would be better served to focus on any of those issues instead of inserting itself into a name-calling, finger-pointing, school-yard brawl.''
Perhaps time spent on investigating the tax-exempt status of the sports factories known as universities would be worth it.
Or gauging whether student-athletes ought to be paid commensurate with the revenues they generate.
Or whether it's fair that an athlete can't transfer, even after coaches break promises, jump at millions and leave the players behind to work for someone they've never met.
Again, the hearing in 2005, all 11 hours of it, served a monumental purpose, saving lives and forcing public discussion of an issue on which many people refused -- and some still refuse -- to engage.
But Wednesday, all we saw were two men repeatedly humiliated and the legitimacy of the Mitchell Report called into question. But it offered no change in the box score, or substantially new information.
It was not a court of law, there was no due process, and no chance to face many of the accusers whose testimony was used against them and is now part of the record.
Those who were certain Clemens cheated before Wednesday's proceedings, still think he did. Those who believed Clemens' story that he didn't, heard nothing to change their minds.
So when it was all done and said, Betty McCollum's words rang loud and true: The country has better things to do.