Is the Spin Running Out:

According to The New York Times, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is beginning to acknowledge, at least while he's safely in Europe, that the Europeans are having trouble connecting the dots between Afghanistan and Iraq. Naturally, we've known this all along, but the usual spin coming out of the administration's mouth is the old bogeyman, Al Queda.

“Many of them, I think, have a problem with our involvement in Iraq and project that to Afghanistan, and do not understand the very different — for them — the very different kind of threat," Gates is reporting as having said.

Recently, NATO is reportedly not playing fair with placement of non U. S. troops only in safe parts of Afghanistan. All things considered, just where does the blame lie, Mr. President?

Ooopsie! A chink in the armor.

Remember when His Bushness tried to lay claim to Trumanesque qualities? But then when he was asked to accept responsibility for invading a country based on everything from faulty information to out right lies, he shrugged and pointed at the CIA.

Four years ago today, Bush gave us this revealing sentence on Meet the Press: "In my judgment, when the United States says there will be serious consequences, and if there isn't serious consequences, it creates adverse consequences."

Oh, by the way, whatever happened to all that talk about saving Social Security by taking the money away from us and investing it in the stock market? Try this quote from the Times on for size:

Wall Street finished a dismal week with a mixed performance Friday as investors grappled with fears about insurers of distressed mortgage-backed bonds and anxiety about the broader economy.

And at this very moment, playing on the radio, is that old stand by, "Release Me": "Please release me/let me go/I don't love you anymore." The next year can hardly pass fast enough.