Our side did a lot of fancy diplomatic and military footwork a while back, in cooperation with Sistani and others, the end result of which was that the great Sadr Uprising (remember when that was trumpeted as the destruction of our efforts in Iraq?) was completely defused. If Bush had to switch tracks slightly (not for the first, and certainly not for the last time), it was well worth it.

Of course, now the process is more complicated, and there are more chances for a screwup, but progress is being made.

You guys can declare that the elections were all Kerry's idea for all I care. As long as we still have some forward movement toward a democracy over there.