Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all.

Doug Duncan told the Post that there was another noble reason for the journey: "If I'm to be the next governor of Maryland, it will help me be a better governor." The county paid $8,000 for the Executive and three aides to venture to El Salvador for what appears to be, in part, foreign relations skills-building.

Atlas Blogged asks if Doug Duncan will now be generous enough with the Montgomery County taxpayers' money - in the interest of fairness - to make an $8,000 contribution to the reelection campaign of Maryland's Governor Rob Erlich so that he, too, can build his foreign relations skills. As Atlas Blogged has noted, this is not the first time that Doug Duncan has furthered his gubernatorial pursuit courtesy of the Montgomery County taxpayer.

Doug Duncan to the Post: "I think anytime you take a trip like this, it helps you to do a better job. It helps me be a better county executive."

In related news, my private sector employer rebuffed a similar attempt of mine to rationalize a free trip to Bora Bora, repudiating my guarantees of doing a better job. Meanwhile, I await the fruits of Doug Duncan's trade-establishing relations, which I envision as mounds of burlap sacks overflowing with rich coffee beans from the volcanic mountains of El Salvador delivered unto the rolling hills of Montgomery County.