Thought of the Day

I stayed up all night Thursday to hear President Bush's speech on Iraq and comments on his new-old strategy. I'll spare the reader the agony of another protracted view on the subject, only saying that the misadventure in Iraq will not be solved by one speech or a hundred. There is, however, noticeable progress in another area. In Sydney about a week ago, Bush thanked his Austrian, rather than his Australian, hosts. In Washington, he knew enough to address the Americans, not the Armenians. In Sydney, he walked the wrong way off the stage and Prime Minister John Howard had to guide him. In Washington, he found his way without the help of Dick Cheney. The last time the vice president helped him he fell in the quagmire of Iraq. He is still trying to speechify his way out of it.