"Boston Legal" screenwriters more adept than DC consultants

A group called "Wings of Justice" gave an award this week to David E. Kelley, James Spader, and the Writers of "Boston Legal" for a closing statement in the fictional TV show:

Each time we watched James Spader's closing arguments in the "Boston Legal" episode titled "Stick It," we wondered: "Why don't Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi say this? Why aren't there Democratic Party advertisements on television with this message?"

We don't know.

We do know that it is a splendid experience to watch someone say what needs to be said. Spader was talking to a fictional jury, but he's really talking to every American. Never was the case for democracy so articulately and compellingly -- and entertainingly -- distilled into an argument that lasts just a few minutes.

The case involved a defendant who refused to pay war taxes. Go to the site and click on James Spader's picture. It's pretty damn good.