Benchmarks

Well, here's the White House interim report on Iraq. So far as I can tell, it's a pretty straightforward assessment of where Petraeus and Crocker see the situation right now--obviously a best case view, but without the lies and oversimplification that mark the President's descriptions of the situation in Iraq. The military situation is represented accurately--at least, it's an accurate representation of the prevailing view on Petraeus' staff. The political section is, well...diplomatic: most assessments of the Maliki government are far more dire, as Bob Woodward reported in the Post today.

All in all, this is Bush business as usual, which is unacceptable. I'll have more to say about the President's lies in my print column this week, and I'll try to get back to you after this morning's press conference.