I have two well-to-do conservative friends. One of them I choose to not see much anymore, he's an odd duck. Nice guy, politically too obviously greedy. No one needs 17 cars.

The other is wealthy enough he has given away most of his money, several hundred million dollars, and greed has never been part of his make-up. Lives simply, drives a Subaru. I was driving past a small college about 20 miles away a couple of months and noticed the brand new athletic field had his name on it. I hadn't known that. I was told a research laboratory at one of the state universities was largely funded by him, and has his name. He didn't tell me, and we have breakfast weekly, climb and hike together.

(I've pressed him to accept an ambassadorship someplace, anyplace, so that maybe he could travel on a diplomatic passport, and I could come along as an aide. He's not interested. He says he has contributed enough money, just isn't interested.)

Be all that as it may, they both agree the war is over, has been lost, and there's no salvaging it.

Somehow, they both still believe the war was a good idea, that the US was right in entering it, that Saddam was a bastard. And, when pressed, they will admit the US wouldn't have invaded if there weren't oil. They acknowledge it was about oil. And Bush's ego.

Neither of 'em attaches any blame to the Democrats.

Arf