Why, oh why, does David Brooks have such great gigs in this business (particulary a column at the goddess of the liberal press, the NYT)?. Why does anyone read him, when they could instead be worshipping me, the supreme journalistic dispenser of wisdom and truth on all subjects? Can't you see how Brooks opinions are going to destroy this country? Save us, the end is near! Oh, the world of jounalism is so unfair (sniff, sniff).

I know liberal writers can be a bit pretentious, but this column is really over the top. Opinions are like a--holes; everybody's got one. Why do you think Brook's (or your's) or any individual columnist's carry such weight? Get real. It's really all about the "green eyed monster" isn't it?

Gee, I must have missed all that progress you're reporting. I wasn't aware that Russia saying it "could" (meaning might) agree to extra undefined sanctions against Iran "undercut Iran", as you describe it. China, who could also veto any UN action, seems unmoved. Iran itself doesn't seem very impressed. Israel still seems as worried as ever, and continues it's sabre rattling. I realize this is just a pro-Obama "spin" article, but maybe you should wait until something significant happens before trying to declare victory.

Sorry, I'm not impressed. Middle East experts from academia are a dime a dozen. Bush (and Clinton, and Bush, Sr., etc., etc.) all had them too, supporting their positions. I'll wait to see some results before being awed by Juan Cole and Obama's "shrewd moves" regarding Iran.

Despite what you say in your personal attack (despite not knowing me at all), I certainly am not against Obama. I voted for him and wish him well, for the whole country's sake. But I'm not going to fall for "spin" like this article. It's way to early to judge the success (or failure) of Obama's approach to Iran.

I'll wait to see what happens before making such a judgment.

...Then get out of the kitchen. Didn't a Democratic president say that? Why is the Obama admministration so thin skinned and sudddenly concerned whether FOX News is a "news channel" or not? Let the viewers decide what they want to watch. MSNBC, NYT and many others slant their coverage toward the left (blackouts on the the ACCORN story, etc.) just as Fox slants it toward the right. CNN fact checking a SNL skit critical of Obama is "news" rather than advocacy journalism in the WH's opinion? And so many supposedly "liberal" posters here want Fox shut down by the FCC, etc. Scary. It's called freedom of speech, folks. What's your problem with that?

Making up something like this "secret diary" is absurd, certainly not funny, and a new low even for Salon. I assume this article wasn't identified more readily as a parody, because then no one would bother to read it. That so many here thought it was real is hillarious, and says much more about the loony left than it does about Palin.

Why is the left so fixated by Palin? Why the constant sexual innuendos about her? Ignore her, and she might actually fade away. Keep writing this type of trash, and it sends the message it's you who needs therapy, not her.

I've spent a lot of years living and working in Russia, and talked to a lot of Russians who served in Afghanistan. Just as you'd expect if you asked our own vets something similiar, their opinions on their service varied. Some were proud of their service there, some not; some thought the USSR's involvement justified, some criticised it. All saw it as a bit of an embarrasment (since they lost), and some blamed their political leadership for letting that happen, while others still blamed the US for supporting the other side.

Just taking one soldier's opinion, who happens to support your own position, and then making sweeping generalizations from it is disingenuous at best. The situation for the USSR in Afghanistan then was not so simple, just as it isn't for us now.

The liberal press is going through Palin's book with a magnifying glass looking to find "lies" and that's the best you can come up with?An "unidentified source" says she's wrong about an old bill? Stop the presses! Keep up the fine investigative reporting, Salon.