Their data points may be valid or not. The primary point is that until recently, their data points, almost exclusively negative, were the only data points being shown in the mainstream media.

And I have heard the excuse that those coming back with positive news are getting a "dog and pony show."

This interview with some Senators is worth reading.

Q: Senator McConnell -- and maybe all of you can respond to it -- Stars and Stripes, the Pentagon-funded newspaper, did a survey of troops in Iraq, and they say that, clearly, half of them have a very low morale. They also go on to say that groups of diplomats and VIPs that go touring in Iraq are basically given a dog-and-pony show; that many troops are not even allowed to talk to you guys as you go out there.

What are your impressions? Did you get a chance to feel the problems that some of these troops are encountering and talk to them on a one-on-one basis? And did you feel that this was in fact somewhat a dog-and-pony show?

McConnell: I didn't see the article, and I'm unaware of the study. But there were at least three things that happened that couldn't have been programmed by people from above.

Number one, they couldn't have programmed the creation of all these businesses springing up in the streets. Number two, they couldn't have programmed all of these kids seeing American military go by, escorting us, doing thumbs up and waving and smiling. And number three, I don't think they could have programmed every single Kentucky soldier that I met to tell me something that would fit the pattern the leadership wanted.

I thought the morale was extremely high. I met a lot of Kentuckians. For some reason, a lot of Kentuckians volunteer for the military. There were big groups of Kentuckians at every stop. And the only complaint I heard were from a few reservists -- and I'm sure this will probably be the only thing I said that you write -- but a few reservists who were concerned about when were they going home. But not a single one complained about, believe it not, the food. In fact, there was one soldier in Afghanistan who says it's terrific food. Or the kind of things that you would expect. And no one said we shouldn't be here; this is not -- what we're doing is not important.

I thought the morale was exceptionally high among all the Kentuckians that I met with, and I met with a lot of them. And I want to repeat: There's no way all of those people could have been programmed to give me an optimistic view, if they didn't hold one.

Craig: I'll react in a similar fashion. Idaho is not a very large state -- 1.2 million people. I met with 35 Idahoans that are over there, and the only concern I heard was an issue of rotation.

Now, we did get into a discussion on who was hoarding the Starbuck[s] coffee. And one of the guys in Kandahar had a supply of Starbuck[s] and he was not sharing it with any of us. (Light laughter.)

The new Brown & Root [Corporation] food service in Mosul, that's now just up and running -- remember, a lot of these facilities and, therefore, creature comforts, if you will, are just coming online. But the significance about that is that good hamburgers and fries are being served there now, and they're Idaho potatoes. (Laughter.)

Q: Senator Chafee, what was your impression?

Chafee: Yes, I'd like to answer that because I did go there remembering, for us political trivia buffs, what brought down Governor Romney in 1968 --

McConnell: He said he'd been brainwashed. (Laughter.)

Chafee: He said we've been brainwashed -- one word, and it was the end of his campaign. Because he had done to Vietnam back when he was governor and said everything's fine, and it was coming back to haunt him. When they asked him, "How come you didn't know more when you went?" that was the poor choice of words he used. So I had that in the back of my mind; when we go, we're going to get a certain picture.

And you have to work to get beyond that picture. And I can honestly say, as Senator McConnell says -- the first time I saw a bus went by our convoy, we're going in one direction on the road in Baghdad, and a bus full of Iraqis went by, and a hand stuck out the window with a thumbs-up. And with my neck I did a swivel, and said, well, maybe that's a middle digit in Baghdad, I don't know, but it looks positive! (Laughter.) But then that was repeated over and over again as we -- actually, we got lost going to a school. I think we were lost, anyway. (Laughs.)

McConnell: We were lost. We were lost.

Chafee: We couldn't find the school, and the children coming out. And so that was the strong impression I got. That we can't underestimate the brutality of the Saddam Hussein regime. But there's other issues as to what we voted on, but that -- I'm speaking to that issue.

Q: Just to follow up on that, if you all met with large numbers of your constituents, that would seem to imply that the troops had been in some way screened, since if you would walk into a random group of troops, they would come from 50 states and elsewhere. Did you get a sense that you were getting honest answers from the folks?

Thomas: Oh, I think so. Of course, we didn't spend our time out at the camp, you know, looking at everybody on the street, but they brought in some folks. In my case, from Wyoming, they were young kids, most of them, 18, 19 years old. And they were committed. "We're here to do something, and by golly, we're going to do it." Now, we didn't go out and talk with 10,000 troops. But I tell you what: it's awfully hard to go away from the leadership and the ones we did meet without knowing that these guys are committed to what they're doing. Of course it's not fun to live in a tent for a year, but nevertheless, we didn't hear one word from our folks except that we're here to do our job and we're proud to do it.