Good show on Iraq old boy

CBS reports ethnic cleansing in the streets, Juan Cole tells us even the Green Zone isn't safe, that Guerillas are just shooting teachers and pilgrims in addition to police now, that assassinations are still fairly frequent, and that Afghanistan has essentially been reclaimed by the warlords.

Yet John Kerry and other leading Democrats are still waving their limpid rhetoric when it comes to foreign policy. A pissed off Arianna Huffington writes that despite the above info and even as the "Saudi Foreign Minister tell[s] the world that Iraq is 'going toward disintegration,' there was John Kerry giving a speech arguing that 'progress' was being made. As the Boston Herald put it, Senator John Kerry 'back-pedalled on blistering criticism of the war.'"

She argues that Dems have to go after Bush on his supposed strengths -- terrorism and, uh, that's it really -- and offers this subtle wrist-slap:

"Democrats lost in 2004 despite having just about everything that mattered go against Bush: Abu Ghraib, the rising insurgency, the 9/11 Commission finding no link between Saddam and al-Qaeda, the Duelfer no-WMD report, and Osama returning to the scene at the 11th hour looking tanned, rested, and ready to rumble."

"And here they are, making the same damn mistakes again. Iraq is going up in flames, 60 percent of the country wants to go in a 'significantly different direction than Bush' [pdf], and John Kerry wants to look on the bright side of the war."

"Forgive me while I tear my hair out."