“Paul H.,” a longtime friend and Bush-baiting New York novelist (author of a wonderfully reviewed book I won’t be plugging any time soon — at least until he takes a ride in my nice, roomy SUV and admits he likes it!), forwarded me this AP report:

WASHINGTON – Enron Corp. representatives met six times with Vice President Dick Cheney or his aides about the nation’s energy policy, including a discussion in mid-October, weeks before the company’s sudden collapse. In a letter to Congress, vice presidential counsel David Addington disclosed the number of meetings between the Bush White House and the former energy giant whose CEO, Kenneth L. Lay, has been among President Bush’s top political supporters. The company entered into the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history on Dec. 2.

In a related story, reports have surfaced that Mr. Cheney met fifteen times with his cardiologist, eight times with his pharmacist, seven times each with his mother and a friend from college named “Steve,” six times with a seafood vendor (problem with a large and complicated shrimp order), and five times with both former “CHiPs” star Erik Estrada and “SNL” alum Chevy Chase. No word yet on how this will impact homeland defense…

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