Drunk? A Kennedy?

Is it standard operating procedure for the Capitol Police not to administer a field sobriety test to someone who crashes his car into a barricade and then staggers around his car? Does anyone at the Capitol do his job properly?

Police officers were told not to give U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy a sobriety test after his traffic accident, police labor union officials say.

Superiors told the officers instead to drive the Rhode Island Democrat home after the accident early Thursday, according to Greg Baird, acting chairman of the U.S. Capitol Police union, who called for an inquiry.

The police report, seen by CNN, includes an observation that Kennedy appeared to have been drinking and his ability was impaired.

Officers at the scene said (Kennedy) appeared intoxicated, law enforcement and congressional officials said.

Baird said when two sergeants arrived at the accident scene after the initial two officers, they conferred with the watch lieutenant on duty.

Afterward, the sergeants told the other officers to drive Kennedy home. His car had been damaged, police said.

An ABC News report includes this observation:

The president of the Washington chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police has told ABC News that an officer smelled alcohol on the breath of Rep. Patrick Kennedy after he crashed into a barricade early Thursday morning.

"He did seem to be intoxicated based on the odor of alcohol and his appearance," said Lou Cannon, who was not on the scene but described the assessment made by officers who were there.

Way to go, Pat. Way to perpetuate that drunken Kennedy stereotype.

If he wasn't drunk, the police didn't do him any favors by not field testing him. But it sure sounds like he was. And if he put people's safety at risk because he can't leave the bottle alone, he deserves no special treatment and should be punished.

Before the GOP gets too excited about this, they would do well to remember one of their own recently was involved in a similar incident, in which he was conveniently not subjected to a sobriety test. But instead of crashing his car into a concrete barrier, he shot a man in the face with a shotgun.

Faux News said at the time that incident was no big deal. Let's see how they treat this one.

Then again, who cares? Better to ignore them completely.