Opinion: Algae doesn't care about our party lines

A National Park Service employee uses a vacuum to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption toggle caption Mark Schiefelbein/AP The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has witnessed more than a century of American history, in all its heartbreak and majesty. Crowds have gathered around it in protest and in praise to denounce American wars, and hear great voices sing and speak. Today, it's the center of a slimy controversy. President Trump said in April he found the water in the reflecting pool "filthy" and "disgusting." He authorized a no-bid contract to resurface the basin of the 2,000-foot long pool, and paint it "American flag blue" in time for July 4th celebrations. "I have a guy who's unbelievable at doing swimming pools," the president crowed, before the National Park Service gave out no-bid contracts for sealing and upgrades. After weeks of renovation, the project has cost taxpayers more than $14 million and… the reflecting pool looks green. And I mean green. Like the Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day. But that river is dyed green for a day. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is green because of algae. Look, algae happens. It's clouded the reflecting pool since it was first filled in 1923. Algae blooms flourish when sunlight falls on warm, sluggish water — like you'd find in a shallow, still pool absorbing the glare and swelter of a Washington D.C. summer. …