A sense of weariness with gombeen politics means I find it burdensome to comment on the farce that unfolded in the D�il yesterday. Alas, events perhaps reflected Beckett’s resigned observation: “The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.”On the radio this morning, presenter Cathal Mac Coille attempted to shame arch-waffler Miche�l Martin into admitting that by staying on as Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern had established a new (lower) standard for the ethical behavior expected of the second-highest office in the state. Unfortunately, Mac Coille phrased it by asking whether the standards of De Valera no longer applied. I, jaded and aware of �amon de Valera’s shenanigans with the Irish Press, muttered, “But he was a crook as well!”