Indicted.

Jim Doyle has to be the only man in America who could actually escape bad news by leaving his state mansion and wandering into a war zone.

While the governor is off touring Baghdad, his administration – and last minor straws of credibility – are crumbling in Wisconsin. Georgia Thompson, a Department of Administration employee under the beleaguered governor, has now been indicted by a federal grand jury for, among other things, “knowingly and intentionally [causing] the misapplication of funds under the care, custody and control of the State of Wisconsin” and “knowingly [devising] and [participating] in a scheme to defraud the State of Wisconsin of the right of honest services.”

Most damning, the indictment states that Ms. Thompson did this “to cause political advantage for her supervisors” and “the actions of Thompson also helped and were intended to help her job security.”

She now faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Fortunately, the indictment is double-spaced, so there is plenty of room to read between the lines and see how Mr. Doyle is really the protagonist.

Mark Green, the man who will hopefully succeed Mr. Doyle in the State House, put out a statement touting his ethics reform package and commenting:

The Doyle Administration’s ethical lapses have cast a cloud over state government that grows darker and darker each day. Today’s announcement is further evidence that we need to not only replace Governor Doyle, but we must take affirmative steps to restore the confidence of the public in the integrity of their elected officials.

(And, by the way, Mr. Green's ethics reform package makes a great deal of sense and is worth checking out. Conversely, the one introduced by Mr. Doyle not too long ago has now become an official laughing stock roughly tantamount to Fidel Castro's offer of neutral election officers to help oversee the 2000 Florida recount.)

Scott Walker has also issued a statement but it, as usual, expends far more ink than Mr. Green's and somehow manages to convey less actual substance.

Interestingly, today's Capital Times featured a patently absurd column by John Nichols calling for congressional impeachment hearings over the President's actions in defense of this nation. I will be curious to see if the same admittedly partisan newspaper calls for the same of Mr. Doyle tomorrow. Because while the comparison may be tough to make (Mr. Bush worked on behalf of his constituents, Mr. Doyle worked on behalf of his campaign contributors), it is abundantly clear which of the two men is wantonly deserving of removal from office.

Don't get me wrong, though. Unless further indictments are handed down implicating Mr. Doyle, the proper way to settle this will be with a vote for Mr. Green at the polls come November. Then, and only then, will this four year nightmare finally be behind us.