It is official Washington that is fascinating to watch in these pauses between dream and reality.

Even more significant, official Washington did not flinch after this week's casualty reports, no small development for a nation that is considering a military operation against Iraq.

He captures official Washington offering the lamest excuses as it trips over itself to deny responsibility for the Iraq war and the Bush era.

The widening of the war - something that would usually see official Washington humming with business - came on an evening when many top officials were absent.

"Jack, 'official Washington' is fifty thousand lawyers and lobbyists," Arnie pointed out.

They were essentially one-man, four-page pamphlets that charged official Washington, particularly the Pentagon, with misleading the press and the people.

As the 10th National Consumers Week approaches, official Washington is once again trying to focus public attention on consumer rights, responsibilities and decision-making.

Or the 1950s, when Scotty Reston carried official Washington's water?

The budgetary question they are groping with, each in a different way, is preoccupying official Washington.

And this telegraphic essay hit official Washington like a lightning bolt that illuminated the landscape.