Comedy Hour

Quiz:
Which publication is this headline from?
Democratic Leaders Move the Goalposts on Iraq
a) The Onion
b) The National Lampoon
c) Mad Magazine
d) The Weekly Standard
If you guessed d you would be correct.

It appears that today is a watershed day with regard to US policy in Iraq. Democratic leaders now acknowledge that the surge is working. The only catch is, they say it's no surprise, they've known it for a while, and it's nothing significant.

The Democrats are moving the goalposts? Perhaps they are just trying to nail them down. The Bush administration and the neocons have been moving the goalposts so fast and so often it has been hard to see them. When introduced the "surge" was supposed to give the Iraqi government a chance to reach some goals. Several months later not only has the Iraqi government not met those goals there is barely an Iraqi government. Without political progress any military improvement is nothing significant.

Now let's look at where the original goalposts were - eliminate Saddam and the threat of WMD. That goalpost is somewhere around the 50 yard line now.