Putting aside my Rep. voice, I would have to agree with your parody, except for the truth telling. It may not even matter now. What matters are the soldiers. Good job. 5's

Hear hear, Mr Robinson...and this applies to both sides of the political divide on this side of the Atlantic as well...555

wonderfully written and a good message..5s

Adagio & alvin - Thanks! Kristof - I thought about that, too - I didn't know if the "Red & Blue" would connect to folks on the other side of the pond...but you are correct about needing unity on that side of ocean, too...and then between the U.S. and it's allies...but until our Administration changes it's attitude and approach the best we can hope for is half-hearted support, which would just not be good enough. The "Olive Branch" needs to be extended from the White House first and it needs to sound and feel real and sincere.

Great work, Paul. You're absolutely dead-on on many points here. Your olive branch comment is precisely what needs to happen before there is any real progress made. Oh, yeah....5s

Rick C - Thanks, I really do see the need for an honest conciliatory gesture from Pennsylvania Avenue...they just stepped on and over too many folks on their way to the current fiasco. When someone treats you that way it's really hard to give them whole-hearted support when they end up in a jam...too tempting to say, "Oh...were you WRONG about something here? How could THAT have happened?", then shrug and walk away...which is in nobody's best interest.

Don't really know how to comment on this one so I'll just let you in on this; after the inauguration there has been less and less of the American Politics behind the Iraqi situation on the news here, it's down to a body count at the end of the news. "And on the West Bank xxx Israeli/Hamas was killed today and in Iraq xxx Insurgents/Soldiers, and now the weather...". Really, I'm not kidding. And I think the general feeling in the newspapers here are that all parts are stuck in a status quo than can not and will not be broken this year or the next (and possibly not before 2008 at the earliest).

I wonder why President Bush has not admitted, in a speech or in a press conference, that his administration has made certain honest mistakes (regarding the Iraq situation) which they acknowledge and determine not to repeat...such an admission would be a demonstration of great political strength and confidence...why doesn't he do it?

Peter - I believe you...and unfortunately, I fear you are correct that things will remain stuck in this sad, sick, pointless loop until perhaps 2008. JD, my take on it, admittedly totally speculative, is that they don't want to admit ANY errors in ANYTHING because they fear the whole house of phony cards will collapse once the Joker at the bottom (the Iraq War rationale and whatever their actual motivation really was) is removed. That, of course, assumes that their mistakes were NOT honest...which to me would make it even more incumbent on them to present the situation as an 'honest' mistake and try to salvage some self-respect and a little credibility out of the whole sickening scenario...Hey, maybe I'm wrong...but the cynicism and distortion eminating from the White House and those closely associated with them has been setting off "warning" alarms in my head for quite a while now. I really would rather be wrong than to believe that about the leader of our country...but nothing I see demonstrates any commitment to the truth...Whether I am right or not, though, what you suggest would be an intelligent, prudent and pragmatic response...the failure to do so seems to increase the likelihood of malfeasance in their actions. In spite of my mistrust and dislike here I could support a well-thought out policy in Iraq if this Administration could come up with one...but to be credible they would have to at least own up to having made 'serious mistakes'...

Well, I am going to try to be tactful here. First of all, we are a parody site, not in a political debate. I agree, again, Paul, that we must unite. BUT, really, the Democrats on this site should show a little more sensitivity. You have the overwhelming majority here and there are only a handful of Republicans, most of whom act responsibly and not over-the-top. First of all, we believe in Bush (no, we don't wear rose colored glasses), don't think he has told lies at all (again, no rose glasses) and is committed to helping Iraq and at the same time protecting our troops.
The way for us ALL to act is ...no Bush-bashing, no Republicans being nasty, and an all around general respect for each other. I think it starts with us being responsible people and not laying it all at the feet of one man. Good job again, Paul.

OK, I understand...what I said is just how I see it. And the President DOES have a responsibility here...and I just don't believe he has acted in good faith in this situation. That's not an easy thing to shrug off and I can't make believe it doesn't bother me...Objection noted, however. Thanks.