Mall of America Vs. Baghdad

Sadly, this is the all-too-real reality in Baghdad these days. Too bad President Bush's urge to surge has been nothing short of a tragedy for our soldiers as well as the people in Baghdad and Iraq. Honestly, do we really need to wait for General Petraeus to give his report in September or October to find out how poorly the war or surge is going? As long as one watches any channel but Fox News, the reality is there for everyone to see.

Of course, the way cable news is these days (or any news broadcast, for that matter), I don't rely on any television station to get any sort of accurate, relevant information about what's going on around the nation and world. Unless, of course, you want to know how Lindsay Lohan's rehab is going, or the debate that raged about whether Paris Hilton was getting human treatment in jail.

Getting back to Iraq - I've said it once and I'll say it undoubtedly dozens of times more - is it really realistic to ask General Petraeus how the surge is going in Iraq? No general worth the stars on his shoulders will ever say that his soldiers aren't getting the job done and that we ought to go home.

But, you have to give President Bush credit - he plays the role of neo-conservative to a T, especially when it comes to the war. I laugh to myself every time I see him on TV saying, "I don't think politicians should be telling generals how to wage the war in Iraq." And when he says this, he's also implying that the generals should determine when we've lost and when we've achieved "victory" in Iraq.

As usual, Bush needs another history lesson (just like Rudy Giuliani, but that's another post for tomorrow). The last time I checked, our military leaders answer to Washington, not the other way around. But, Bush is playing the idiotic, debilitating oversimplification that Reagan practically made a national motto: "Government isn't the solution, it's the problem." Does anyone else notice the irony that the people who most despise and mistrust government - Republicans - are running part of it?

Sure, that makes sense.

Joe Lieberman is the new Zell Miller

I know even less than Joe Lieberman about the situation in Baghdad, but I'll confidently say this - I trust a reporter, in this case CNN's Michael Ware, a whole lot more than I do a Republican sycophant in Washington.

From what I'm reading, violence in Baghdad might be down slightly since the U.S. surge began, but violence is up all over the country.

Well, we've heard from McCain that things are better in Iraq, and we've heard from Joe Lieberman. Who's next? Was Rudy busy yesterday? What about Newt Gingrich?

I've got a good idea - why not get former Senator Bill Frist on the phone - he's masterful at diagnosing a situation with just a few minutes of video.

Lieberman and McCain - perfect together. Perfectly ignorant and ideologically programmed to believe that someday we'll be victors in Iraq.

Pathetic and sad - two men with a lot of good qualities, politically ruined (as they should be) because of their myopic views on this misbegotten war.

Joe Lieberman really is the new Zell Miller - loved by Repubes, despised by Democrats the world over. Joe's simply an ass with a trunk.