This week is certainly proving depressing for anyone who wants the U.S. debacle in Iraq to end soon.
First, of course, The Decider announces he won't make a decision about any policy shift in his prosecution of the war until after the first of the year. He doesn't want to be rushed, he says. Never let it be said that this president would make irrational snap judgements.
Even scarier is the news that Democratic South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson was hospitalized yesterday with an unkown ailment. He was showing signs of a stroke, but his office now insists no, no, it was no such thing, but won't say what it was. Assuming Johnson is permanently incapacitated, South Dakota's ultra-conservative governor, Michael Rounds, gets to name the replacement, most likely a Republican party hack.
Which means the Democrats lose their one-seat majority in the senate, and Dick Cheney gets to cast the tie-breaking vote. Hmm, wonder how he'll vote on anything related to the war?
Not that it matters, anyway. Even if Democrats remain in control of both houses, they have no intention of making big changes. They'll keep funding the war, but hey, they insist they'll "demand" a better accounting of the costs. Oh, that'll put the fear of God into Republicans--it's kind of like hiring Arnold Stang as a bodyguard.
And then there's self-proclaimed "maverick" Republican John McCain's nutty idea to send 15 to 30,ooo more troops to Iraq, because "the American people want this war to succeed, if possible." Succeed at what? This war has had about half a dozen rationales already. How can you have victory when your goals keep shifting? In any event, for reasons no one outside of Bizarro World can explain, McCain's idea seems to be gaining traction.
So despite the results of the midterm elections, which were clearly a referendum on the war, the people in power have issued a clear response to the American people: "Fuck you."
