Get out the rulers, boys

It's penis-measuring time! What the hell? "We're facing a test of will, and we will meet that test," says Rumsfeld. A test of will? Dammit, staring someone down is a test of will. This is killing on a big, big scale.

Remember Aesop: "It is easy to be brave from a safe distance." Whaddya say, Rummy? How do you feel about turning violent woundings and death into your own dick-measuring contest?

This little bit was interesting: "Two journalists working for The New York Times and two of their Iraqi staff were detained by insurgents in a small town outside Baghdad for three hours on Wednesday. They were released unharmed and allowed to leave the town, which was completely controlled by the insurgents."

Uh, that means they're not just blindly shooting at everything that moves. That paragraph implies sophistication and coordination. And, I might add, professionalism. This news ain't good.

Remember how much fun everyone had last year with Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, so wittily dubbed "Baghdad Bob" by the media? What fun that was! He made these comically inaccurate statements, so easily disproven! Ha ha ha! I wonder what sort of alliterative fun we can have with a reversed situation? Baghdad Bremer? Pusillanimous Paul? Let us know. I mean, we're offered gems like this:

"The American occupation authorities say the percentage of Iraqis who oppose allied efforts to reconstruct and democratize the country is minuscule."

So miniscule, in fact, that they've taken at least three cities. Now that's tiny.

You know what we need? Steady leadership in times of change, that's what.