The Problem

We can (and we can't) send a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand additional troops into Iraq, but Bush has no idea what to do with them when they get there (and they won't). McCain's embrace of a "surge" of troops is a cynical, political posture that plays to the remaining wingnuts who are still fantasizing a noble victory.

Get this - George W. Bush and every crackpot on his payroll lost this war the second they decided to 1. wage it and 2. send a minimal amount of troops to secure the country after they went in.

It is also evident that nothing will be done to end (impeachment and removal from office) his mismanagement of this war until it gets a whole lot worse. And that is a future I am dreading.

The real Man-of-the-Year

Taylor Marsh asks who is your man of the year. Here's my answer...

In a better world this man would be in his second term and the country and the world wouldn't be embedded in this disaster. It is my fervent wish that he runs for president in '08 and we have a chance to re-elect him.

The Cult of Obama

Look, I donated to his campaign and urged my family in Chicago, good democrats all, to vote for the guy. Since then his record as a "progressive champion" has been spotty (see David Sirota: Mr. Obama goes to Washington). I'd give him a year to show us why he should be president. In the mean time, there are other excellent people, with records of achievement, who, to me, have made a better case as potential candidates.

This "cult of personality" that has grown up around him is creepy.