White House faces first scandal test with Enron collapse.(Chicago Tribune)

WASHINGTON _ Official Washington, full of collective outrage, is convinced that the demise of Enron rises to the level of a national scandal. It is far less unified on where the blame starts and stops, and it is not quite sure whether the scandal is one of business or politics or both.

When the gavels rap Thursday morning to start a new round of congressional hearings on the collapse of the Houston-based energy trading giant, the elements for good political theater will be in place. Documents have been shredded. Subpoenas have been issued. A ready list of compelling victims and unsympathetic villains awaits.

And a long line of lawmakers, especially those with presidential ambitions, will try to step up to the role of hero.

Some Democrats are trying to connect the dots between Enron and the White House, or at least to some high-ranking members of the Bush administration. Enron officials did, after all, make phone calls to Cabinet-level officials seeking …