Beating That Dead Horse:

With the Republican fortunes on the line, Secretary of Defense Donny Rumsfeld and President Bush took their message of "stay the course in Iraq" to the street yesterday. Well, actually they preached it to the Republican choir, but the singers have been contimplating rebellion of late.

According to the Washington Post, "In a briefing … at the Pentagon, Rumsfeld played down the significance of fighting and sectarian violence that have erupted over the past few days outside Baghdad, as U.S. troops in Iraq suffer some of the highest monthly casualties since the 2003 invasion." The Post writers state that "Rumsfeld rejected the suggestion that this means the U.S. strategy of 'clear, hold and build' is failing."

The Post further states,

The remarks came amid growing concern among both Republican and Democratic lawmakers about the administration's Iraq plan, with some predicting that upcoming elections and the apparent lack of progress on the ground would soon force the Bush administration to abandon its open-ended support of the war.

Seems more and more folks are coming to this conclusion. First the lemmings run one way and then they run another. Couldn't you just see this coming? How far in the sand do you have to have your head burried anyway?