The continuing drop in casualties in Iraq.

U.S. military casualties in December were the second lowest for any month since the start of the war.

23 deaths, of which 10 were due to non-hostile events, such as accidents. In February of 2004, there were 20 deaths, of which 9 were due to non-hostile events.

The headlines seen in the media? "2007 Deadliest for U.S. Troops in Iraq." I suppose it all depends on which numbers you want to look at.

Iraqi civilian deaths also continued to drop, to 462 for December.

Casualty source numbers here.

Military leaders say there's still a long way to go, and they're right, but it's obvious that things have improved.

For the 2008 election, the Democratic Party has recently adopted the position "what is this 'Iraq' of which you speak?" This will, of course, change if things go south again. Until then, it's all about the economy. Unless those numbers refuse to cooperate, too.