The incompetence of the Bush Administration echoes once again in the leadership of the man they installed as majority leader in the Senate, Bill Frist. Last week, Sen. Frist okayed a plan to issue a $100 rebate to citizens who buy gas. Now that plan has, well, back-fired:

At a news conference last week to unveil the idea, Sen. James M. Talent (R-Mo.) declared, “It will show people that Washington gets it.”

Many voters, however, concluded that Washington does not get it. Besieged with complaints about political pandering, GOP lawmakers now say the rebate idea is a non-starter. As Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) explained yesterday, “When my own daughter harasses me, you know you’re in trouble.”

It wasn’t just Sen. Lott’s daughter who ridiculed the bill. The GOP senators even took a hit from the Republican Majority Leader in the House:

“I just think that trying to satisfy voters with a $100 voucher is insulting,” said Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House majority leader. “Over the weekend, I heard about it from my constituents a few times. They thought it was stupid.”

Even one of the wingnuttiest wingnuts in the Senate trashed the idea:

“It was a silly idea,” said Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, a member of the Republican leadership, who predicted that the rebate would not be in the final energy package when it reached the floor.

Conversely, there’s Sen. Rick Santorum, offering more proof that he is completely clueless:

“Every voter I’ve talked to has been excited of the fact that they get $100 tax relief,” said Senator Rick Santorum, the Pennsylvania Republican who is in a tough re-election fight. “It does give a temporary help to consumers who are faced with higher prices.”