By all means let's give Newsday's Paul Vitello a Pulitzer for discovering that many of the people who applauded Bush's words yesterday on Long Island are low-paid, benefit-deprived workers who had no idea what he was saying --

"No speak English," said the first worker, smiling apologetically.

"No speak English," said the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth workers way-laid in the crowd.

But you think the tax cuts should be made permanent, as he says?

"Sorry, no English," said another.

-- but for sheer weirdness, you can't match what fellow Newsdayer Jimmy Breslin uncovered a couple of days ago: that workers are apparently expected to cover any dirt the Leader of the Free World walks on (with concrete, or asphalt, or at the very least some kind of improvised walkway) so His Nibs' wingtips aren't besoiled:

For days now, the job at Eisenhower Park in Nassau County has been to follow the order from the White House through the Secret Service and down to the park workers:

"The president's feet are not to touch the dirt."...

Yesterday, a big guy, who had been fixing serious pipe leaks in the county executive's building, was on the walkway unrolling wooden storm fencing that would create an alley for Bush to walk down.

"When you get the fence up, what do you do?" he was asked.

"Cover the ground so his feet don't touch it."...

First, there was the ground from a parking lot to a wood building used for special activities. This probably will be where Bush meets with the families....

They put up a concrete sidewalk from the parking lot to a ramp leading into a side entrance to the building.

The rain and sleet made it impossible for the concrete to dry. So they changed from concrete to the asphalt used on streets. They hoped the president wouldn't mind this....

What the hell? Is this some sort of phobia, like Donald Trump's aversion to shaking hands? Or did the polling unit inform Karl Rove that NASCAR moms aged 35-49 in swing states won't vote for a man with dusty pant cuffs? (I'd think it would be just the opposite.)