The commenters today are buying that Bush is sleeping well. Please remember, this is a guy who lied like a dog to get us into this misbegotten war in the first place, and has repeatedly lied to us about many things ever since.

So assume he's tossing and turning. What am I going to do? he frets. And no answer comes, because of course he is, in presidential terms, a moron. He cannot see that this is not a conventional war and has not been since the Iraqi army laid down its arms. It's a "police action", a term erroneously applied to the Korean War.

Nor can he see that, because it's not a conventional war, "victory" in the conventional sense is impossible -- unless you want to ramp up toward genocide and call that warfare.

This conflict must therefore be settled, and that means devoting huge attention and resources to the diplomatic side of the conflict. Bush hates diplomacy. He is far too arrogant for it, as are the neocons. Their idea of diplomacy is attending a meeting designed solely for the other side to capitulate.

Above all, it is the belief that everything, the focus, the means and the outcome, are all things to be directed by the U.S., that puts Bush and the neocons outside reality.

So Bush yells at his people, Dammit, win this thing! And nothing happens, so he lies some more, and the voters get annoyed, and he loses a major election, and so he tosses and turns.

Eventually, he will listen to the "winners", the neocons. Bush will persist with no major changes. Things will get worse, unless the Iraqis settle it all themselves and order us out.

So the end will be either a great Democratic victory in '08 followed by radical change or an ignominious expulsion by the Iraqis.

Or, aggressive resistance by the current Democratic Congress, and maybe impeachment.

And that is something even the Mighty Moron can see coming, and lose sleep over.

To me, the continuing problem is the societal insistence that sexual monogamy is our natural state. Or rather, conceding that it is not, it is the view as expressed by Katherine Hepburn's character in "The African Queen": "Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are in this world to rise above."

That may be true as to anger and violence, but not lovemaking. Then it's a question of what you are emotionally comfortable with. The automatic condemnation of nonmonogamous sex practices is bigoted and intolerant. The Polynesians were getting along just fine with relaxed sexual practices until we Christianized them out of them (with mixed success).

Let each find his or her bliss. And let those, including lovers who can't handle it, go on their way.

Obviously, opponents of the war are not going to rush to support a plan floated by the strongest supporters of the war every step of the way so far.

Let them first say what they see as our agenda now. For the neocons, it still is long-term occupation of Iraq, domination of the region from the Green Zone, even if we have to tolerate a dozen or so coffins and 50 or so mutilations of Americans every week. Is that what they want?

Or are they subscribers to the fantasy that our continued presence can bring peace through force of arms? Half a dozen factions of Iraqis, both Sunni and Shiite, have made it clear that as long as our troops are there, they will try to kick us out of their country by force of arms. Our presence is an absolute guarantee of continuing violence, and it doesn't help that we have no legal right AT ALL to be there, or call any shots, or fire a shot without the total approval of the Iraqi government, which most of the time we don't.

And what kind of oversight do these new overseers want? Will it be like the ho-hum, thumb-twiddling they called oversight in the last Congress?

As the saying goes, it's nice that these fellows claim to be converted, but I don't think they're ready for the choir.