Clinton advisers admitted a political motivation for the new policy. "White House officials said their polling shows that Americans believe government in Washington does not work, and Clinton yesterday sounded the theme," said the Washington Post in its story about the signing. "Cleaning up the mess in Washington is something that runs through every voter interview," said a Clinton official. "This is a way to do it, a way we can promote and one where we can make a strong 'New Democrat' case that what we want is not more government but government that works."

 "We changed the way government buys things to make it more competitive so you won't have to read about a system that produces those $500 hammers and $50 ashtrays any more," Clinton was soon bragging in a stump speech.

 He was wrong, of course. Giving credit cards to bureaucrats did not save money.

 In 1994, says GAO, federal charge-card expenditures were $1 billion. By 2000, 500,000 federal workers carried the card, using it to spend $12 billion. By 2003, card carriers dropped to 325,000, but spending jumped to $16.4 billion.

 That is almost twice as much as government spent that year on the Legislative Branch ($3.4 billion) and Judiciary Branch ($5.1 billion) combined.

 When Clinton signed the charge-card law, he said it would let federal workers "shop for the best deal without being bogged down in any bureaucracy." But GAO discovered the opposite is often true. "Dun and Bradstreet's analysis of fiscal year 2002 Interior transactions, conducted on our behalf," said GAO, "illustrates that cardholders frequently paid more than necessary."

 Certainly, many bureaucrats would never abuse their card privileges. But some cannot resist the temptation. "A weak overall control environment and substantial breakdowns in internal control left agencies vulnerable to fraudulent, improper and abusive charges," said GAO April 28.

 At VHA, GAO said this month, it "tested only a small portion of the transactions that appeared to have a higher risk of fraud, waste or abuse" and found $300,000 in wasteful or questionable charges. Among the discoveries: $500 to Hollywood Beach Country Club, $788 to Gap Kids, $1,705 to the Baltimore Orioles, $2,081 to the Brass Elephant restaurant, $30,000 for movie gift certificates and $38 for three cases of beer "where the cardholder stated that the purchase was made at the request of a VA pharmacy for a patient."

 What a fitting legacy for Bill Clinton and his reinvention of government.

 But Clinton has been gone from office four years now. Isn't it time Republicans closed the charge accounts he opened in the taxpayer's name?