Washington Ben Nelson: "Thanks to me the sun will come up tomorrow!"

Now that he no longer has to cower in the shadow of former Sen. Chuck Hagel, Sen. Ben Nelson has developed the rather odious habit of taking credit for virtually everything that happens in Washington and beyond, regardless of whether he had anything to do with it or not and without giving proper credit to those who actually did the work.

Latest example: Last Thursday Washington Ben decided to blast out a press release claiming credit for something that had already been announced by the Pentagon about a month ago. Nelson, who is a member of the U.S. Armed Services Committee, was apparently told by the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Thursday that StratCom at Offutt AFB will have a “very significant” role in overseeing cyber-security efforts. Despite the fact that it is old news (if news at all), the release, and the subsequent Omaha World-Herald story, give the impression that Nelson just brokered some great deal for Nebraska.

Hardly.

Perhaps the press release is penitential for Nelson's failure to protect Offutt AFB and Sarpy County. At a minimum it demonstrates a character flaw in Nelson, i.e., the need to overstate one's importance, the need to take credit for the work of others and the failure to acknowledge the hard work of others (e.g., Congressman Lee Terry and Senator Mike Johanns).

Nelson has been a politician for a long, long time, and I don't expect him to correct this character flaw overnight. So, in the meantime, expect headlines like the following to flow from Nelson and his Senate office:

NELSON: THANKS TO ME THE SUN WILL COME UP TOMORROW

HUSKERS TO WIN HOME FOOTBALL OPENER--SEN. BEN NELSON FIGHTS FOR NEBRASKA

NELSON WORKING HARD TO ENSURE NEW YORK YANKEES HAVE HIGHEST MLB PAYROLL