My, how things change...

for now at least. It was with great amusement that I read about the revelation of Rick Santorum's "sunny day fundamentalism". I don't think either party has a strangle hold on hypocrisy, but given the arrogance that has accompanied the spending of W's "political capital", it's especially satisfying to some of his poker buddies scrambling to stay in office (almost a year before the next elections!).

Christmas comes early...

and on many levels. The recent ruling by a Bush appointee that incorporating creationism into science curricula is "un-intelligent design" makes this blogger happier than a gopher in soft dirt. The news regarding the Senate's having seen through the machinations of a bunch of oil company shills to block unnecessary drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge makes me feel greedy.

There has definitely been a shift in the cultural pendulum of late. How far and fast it swings remains to be seen. I, for one, am cautiously optimistic.

W's approval rating

Fascinating how your perspective can be radically different depending on your news sources. From the headline, one can get the impression that Bush has failed to sway the American people on Iraq or (without reading to entire article), that his popularity is rebounding. While there is little doubt that a bit of encouraging economic news has been a ray of sunlight for our commander-in-chief, it's interesting to note that despite a full-court press tour, Americans aren't buying his rhetoric on the war in Iraq.

As I did during the last presidential election, I use Rasmussen as a bellwether. In that poll, Bush's popularity hasn't changed significantly (in my opinion) for some time.

It leaves this jaded patriot wondering (for the first time in a long time) if the system is working.

The Future of the Iraqi Government

The premature jubilation of our commander-in-chief notwithstanding, it's interesting to think about what form of government Iraq is likely to have in another few years. For my money, one needs look no further than Iraq's relatively mature (in a political sense) neighbor to the East. I would be thrilled if some one could convince me that there's some compelling set of reasons that preclude Iraq's devolving into the same type of fundamentalist theocracy that is thriving in Iran.