WASHINGTON — Leaving aside the seriousness of lawlessness, and the corruption of our civic culture by the professionally pious, this past week has been amusing. There was the spectacle of advocates of an ever-larger regulatory government expressing shock about such government's large capacity for misbehavior. And, entertainingly, the answer to the question "Will Barack Obama's scandals derail his second-term agenda?" was a question: What agenda? The scandals are interlocking and overlapping in ways that drain his authority. Everything he advocates requires Americans to lavish on government something his administration, and big government generally, undermines — trust. Liberalism's agenda has been constant since long before liberals, having given their name a bad name, stopped calling themselves liberals and resumed calling themselves progressives, which they will call themselves until they finish giving that name a bad name. The agenda always is: Concentrate more power in Washington, more Washington power in the executive branch and more executive power in agencies run by experts. Then trust the experts to be disinterested and prudent with their myriad intrusions into, and minute regulations of, Americans' lives. Obama's presidency may yet be, on balance, a net plus for the public good if it shatters American's trust in the regulatory state's motives. Now, regarding Obama's second-term agenda. His re-election theme — re-elect me because I am not Mitt Romney — yielded a meager mandate, and he used tactics that are now draining the legitimacy an election is supposed to confer. One tactic was to misrepresent the Benghazi attack lest it undermine his narrative about taming terrorism. Does anyone think the administration's purpose in manufacturing 12 iterations of the talking points was to make them more accurate? Another tactic was using the "federal machinery to screw our political enemies." The words are from a 1971 memo by the then-White House counsel, John Dean, whose spirit still resides where he worked prior to prison. Congress may contain some Democrats who owed their 2012 election to the IRS' suppression of conservative political advocacy. Obama's supposed "trifecta" of scandals — Benghazi, the IRS, and the seizure of Associated Press phone records — neglects some. A fourth scandal is power being wielded by executive branch officials (at the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) illegally installed in office by presidential recess appointments made when the Senate was not in recess. A fifth might be Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius soliciting, from corporations in industries HHS regulates, funds to replace some that Congress refused to appropriate. The money is to be spent by nonprofit — which does not mean nonpolitical — entities. The funds are to educate Americans about, which might mean (consider the administration's Benghazi and IRS behaviors) propagandize in favor of, Obamacare and to enroll people in its provisions. The experienced (former governor, former secretary of education, 10 years in the Senate) and temperate Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., compares this to the Iran-contra scandal, wherein the Reagan administration raised private funds to do what Congress had refused to do — finance the insurgency against Nicaragua's government. Obama's incredibly shrinking presidency is a reminder that politics is a transactional business, trust is the currency of the transactions, and the currency has been debased. For example: Obama says: Trust me, I do not advocate universal preschool simply to swell the ranks of unionized, dues-paying, Democrat-funding teachers. Trust me, I know something not known by the social scientists who say the benefits of such preschool are small and evanescent. Obama says: Trust me, the science of global warming is settled. And trust me that, although my plans to combat global warming, whenever the inexplicable 16-year pause of it ends, would vastly expand government's regulatory powers, as chief executive I guarantee that these powers will be used justly. Obama says: Trust me, although I am head of the executive branch, I am not responsible for the IRS portion of this branch. Obama says: Trust me, my desire to overturn a Supreme Court opinion (Citizens United) that expanded First Amendment protection of political speech, and my desire to "seriously consider" amending the First Amendment to expand the government's power to regulate the quantity, content and timing of political advocacy, should be untainted by what the IRS did to suppress advocacy by my opponents. Because Obama's entire agenda involves enlarging government's role in allocating wealth and opportunity, the agenda now depends on convincing Americans to trust him, not their lying eyes. In the fourth month of his second term, it is already too late for that. George Will writes for The Washington Post. Email: georgewill@washpost.com.

Customers flocked to the Peerless Grille Sunday for their first ever chance to buy a bloody mary or a beer, with their Sunday lunch in Anniston. “As soon as we turned on the sign and opened up the doors people started coming in,” said Kristy Farmer, owner of the restaurant. That doesn’t generally happen, she said. The restaurant usually doesn’t open on Sundays but decided to give it a try after the city of Anniston legalized Sunday alcohol sales, Farmer said. Diners and shoppers across Anniston took advantage Sunday of the first legal opportunity to raise a glass to the new law, approved by the City Council on Tuesday after winning approval to do so from the Legislature this spring. Farmer advertised specials on bloody marys and other mixed drinks and hired some more staff to cover the extra hours. She believes the rush may be because of the novelty of Sunday sales. But she has confidence that the people will keep coming and as long as they do, the Peerless will stay open on Sundays, she said. The customers who would talk to a reporter were overwhelmingly supportive of the new law. Jean Ann and Jerry Oglesby of Anniston came in for lunch just because of the new law and were enjoying a drink with their meals. “We’re here because we can be,” Jean Ann Oglesby said. They both applauded the move by the City Council to allow the sales as a revenue generator for local businesses. It will keep Annistonians from going to Birmingham or Atlanta for Sunday brunch, they said. Anniston resident Kevin Pate, who was enjoying a beer with his lunch one booth down from the Oglesbys, said the availability of the drink did influence where he ate Sunday. He “probably would have gone to Oxford,” without the new law, Pate said. Valerie Naylor and Mark Dulkan of North Carolina were not drinking alcohol with their lunch but still thought the decision by the City Council was a good one. Naylor, who is an independent contractor working on the Coldwater Mountain Bike Trails, said she believes the move would help revitalize the city. She said while Interstate 20 helped Oxford bring in strip malls and big box stores, Anniston with its still-intact historic charm, newly opened downtown brewery the mountain biking trails will bring in tourists who will spend money. A new ordinance to limit public smoking and the Sunday alcohol sales law will both help keep them coming back, Naylor and Dulkan said. “With the trails, you’ve got mountain bikers coming in and they’re going to want a beer after their ride,” Dulkan said. Some locals were out on a Sunday just to celebrate the new ordinance. Jimmie Thompson and Jarred Driggers both of Anniston sat side by side at the Peerless’ bar enjoying drinks with their lunch. Thompson said he goes out for lunch with his family every Sunday, but today headed to the Peerless with friends so that he could get his mimosa and meal. “I wanted to come and celebrate,” Thompson said. “To promote this in spirit.” Driggers said he usually stays home on Sundays and orders pizza. He has a fully-stocked bar, dartboard and television at home, Driggers said. But with the new ordinance, he decided to head to the Peerless for lunch. “I got up at 11 o’clock on a Sunday morning to come here and have a drink,” Driggers said. At the Classic on Noble restaurant, the buffet drew a crowd just as it always does, said owner Cathy Mashburn. The restaurant wasn’t advertising alcohol sales, but filling orders if it got one, she said. By 12:30 p.m. only one table had ordered any liquor, she said, adding there were still a couple hours to go before closing. Next week though, the restaurant will have specials on mimosas and bloody marys at the brunch. “We wanted to sort of get a feel for it,” Mashburn said. Staff writer Laura Camper: 256-235-3545. On Twitter @LCamper_Star.