What I would consider a success tomorrow is that we have gotten started

Condi is in the Middle East for a summit with Olmert and Abbas. She isn’t really expecting much in the way of accomplishments, or indeed, physical coordination: “I am not going to ask anyone to run when we really need to walk for a while, because, as I said, I think if we ask everybody to run somebody is going to fall down.” Really, if they both show up, that’s good enough for Condi: “Nobody is at the point of talking about a deal... What I would consider a success tomorrow is that we have gotten started.” That woman is the guru of low achievers everywhere. Following her example, if I get out of bed tomorrow, I will consider it a success. If I put my pants on, it will be a triumph.

She met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, which may or not have produced any tangible results, and who cares because Condi & Tzipi meetings always produce such fabulous photos:



There were more French troops fighting for American independence at Yorktown than American troops, did you know that? I didn’t know that.

John McCain gave a speech promoting abstinence to a bunch of South Carolina teenagers at a rally sponsored by one of those religious anti-abortion “pregnancy centers.” In yesterday’s story announcing the rally, the AP chose to use this 3-month old picture, presumably because McCain seems to be trying to hold up his pants. Which is surprisingly immature of the AP, and I wish I’d thought of it first.


I’m frustrated that the only coverage of the speech I’ve found, from the AP, is sketchy but tantalizing. So we know he told the teenagers, “Sometimes I’ve made the wrong choice,” and he seems to have compared high school peer pressure to his experiences at the Hanoi Hilton, where the North Vietnamese “wanted to make us do things that we otherwise wouldn’t do.” More, dammit, we want more!