Last week, House Speaker hastert made the rather ridiculous claim that Jack Abramoff was unknown to D.C. politicians, despite being one of the most powerful lobbyists in town with iron-clad Republican credentials.

Now, despite the fact that around half a dozen different photos exist showing President Bush with Abramoff, Bush is now claiming that he also has never heard of the guy before. This, apparently, despite the fact that Abramoff was a major Bush/Cheney fundraiser in 2004, one of their special “pioneers,” a status which usually guarantees face time with the president.

The photos, according to Time Magazine, show at least three different occasions where Bush and Abramoff were photographed together, including one that had them together with an Indian tribe that Abramoff was representing. Another set of photos has Bush posing with Abramoff, and alternately with two of Abramoff’s sons. And then–get this–one with Bush, several of Abramoff’s children, and Speaker Hastert–the other prominent Republican who has recently claimed never to have heard of Abramoff before.

Bush’s explanation? Their mutual appearance in the photos was a “coincidence.”

Um, yeah, that’s right! A coincidence! Abramoff just happened to raise more than $100,000 for Bush, and then just happened to appear in photos with Bush and his lobbying clients! And on other occasions! How could that possibly be construed as any kind of relationship? What an absurd thought! Never mind that Bush remembered the names of Abramoff’s children on a successive meeting! Just another coincidence! Nothing to it!