There is another blessing in all this chaos involving Cheney if you're Republican (I'm not); that is, if Cheney does step aside Bush can now pick a more marketable replacement for the presidency in 2008, which, Tim, you and others have implied by acknowledging the rumored pick of Condoleeza Rice.

The story is probably ungrounded rumor, or it might be a "floater," as you suggest -- a way of knocking the edge off possible forthcoming indictments of Libby and Rove. But nobody really believes that Rove and Bush were NOT involved and it's pretty apparent that Cheney is no longer a political asset, at least a public asset. As a neo-con he can still serve the cause of Pax Amerikana from the "underground."

Even more duplicitous is this morning's "leak" that Bush chewed-out Rove at the time of the Plame outing, conceding that he had knowledge of the outing even despite that everyone knows he denied it at the time. You might ask, why would he now admit knowing of Rove's involvement in discrediting Wilson by outing his wife, CIA's Valerie Plame? Because, as some pundits are arguing, Wilson was not the target; although the Bushcovics would love everybody to think Wilson was the target. That's a give-away -- a line in the dirt that's already been crossed. What they don't now want us to know is that CIA's spy observations of ARAMCO, the Carlyle Group, Halliburton, et.all., surrounding the entire affair including Saddam and the Oil for Food scandal and the Bush Administration's manipulation of intel in the run-up to the war -- the CIA's own front company in the Middle East, Brewster, Jennings & Associates -- were on the verge of Busting the whole neo-conservative scam: the Pentagon's office of intel, the Israeli foreign office, it's Pentagon connections with the office of intel, Ahmad Chalabi and the New York Times' Administration shill-with-top-security-clearance, Judy Wilson. The Pentagon and the CIA were at war, remember. When Plame and Brewster, Jennings & and Associates were exposed (completely exposed) by the White House Iraqi Group in their desperate effort to save their neo-con Energy scam against Saddam and OPEC, the CIA retaliated by sicking the dogs of the Justice Department (Fitzmass) on them. Who knows what they have done covertly? Perhaps fed insider intel to the investigation.

No, no! Rove, Libby, even Cheney himself, are little players. By giving up Rove and Libby they can now create a new line of defense in the midst of their grand retreat. Meanwhile, the vanguard detachment via the new head of CIA -- Tenent having been a pigeon taking the fall for their new straw man, "the CIA's botching of the Intel" -- began orchestrating its purge of the CIA.

Who will the Neo-cons select to get on the horse in 2008? Hell, they could even choose a Democrat to back. Both parties represent oligarchic interests. But look for this war for the world's energy markets to continue. Ironic isn't it -- that CIA had the patriotic and perhaps moral gumption to stand up to the Bush grab for power in Iraq. Then maybe �The Company� had it�s own, no doubt multi-generational designs as far back as the Allen Dulles years. This thing is bigger than anyone could possibly imagine. Perhaps it will some day be revealed that CIA and the Neo-cons are representing two distinct oligarchies at war with each other in for the world energy market. Certainly CIA�s influence among the Russians and the Caspian oil & gas states will be a factor in those political entities� relationship with the New Afghanistan and a New Iraq. My long-term advice: buy stock in geographic mapping companies and hang on 'cause the map is fixing to change.

L. asks, ".20 percent strongly approve? WHO are those people?"

They are all members of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchberg, Virginia. They were apparently watching the 700 Club during the week when the prophesy was announced expressing God's love for Dubya. And since the Concordance lists 256,987 occurrences of "W" the issue was resolved then and there: "Render unto Cheney that which is Cheney's." Therefore, Iran must fall. The oracle has spoken. Nasum Dorma, in patre file...

Dilegua o notte!

Tramontate, stelle!

Tramontate, stelle!

All' alba vincerò!

Vincerò! Vincerò!

Tony Snow? He's already a shill for the White House, and probably already a PAID shill. It makes sense for Bush and Cheney but the press corps had better buy some boots -- they're going to be wading through some real [Fox] Bushit now.

I wouldn't exactly call myself a "newby" but this is my first week here and I'm very impressed. I liked your grounded argument about Obama's "move to the middle," especially as a progressive who has been more than a little surprised recently. Finding out that he was pandering to progressives and has now come back home for the general was a bit of a sting for me.

But I do want to suggest what my gut is telling me about "the FISA thing." Wasn't that really more about the most powerful lobby in DC whom Obama has been struggling to convince he's a trustworthy supporter? And all this time he's been doing it with Holy Joe barking up his backside. Remember the first rule of politics: you don't get elected without their support. Or am I yet wrong about Obama again?

After only a week (well, I was a member several years back as well) I've found a journalist who is displays the level of wisdom I find helpful in staying informed.