Ah, TB. You must be feeling nostalgic for those halcyon days when Cheny and Rumsfeld could tell State and CIA to go take a hike and let the White House run its own intelligence, diplomacy and war directly without any interference from qualified professionals. The take- charge business majors sure managed to cut through all the bureaucratic shinola which led directly to the multiple successes of the Bush Administration. Mission Accomplished!

Well, I don't doubt State and CIA could use a housecleaning, but the White House is certainly going to get one in November! And it is way overdue. But I don't think that the Administration has lost its balls, it never had any. What is has lost is its power, its political capital, and its support, both within and without the party. It's more than just the usual pre-election lameduckiness, it is a complete lack of confidence and and a desire now to simply stay out of trouble until November. Running out the clock, keeping a low profile, and cringing in the corner.

For this reason, I don't think we have to worry about an attack on Iran any time soon. Although it would be a geat way to hand Obama a hot potato (or a smoldering time bomb) for his first term, it would also mean an enormous headache for a McCain administration, and if they have any influence at all within the Bush White House, they're not going to let it's last major act commit American policy irreversibly for the next few years, and maybe much longer.

Well, maybe they'll find crude in the Gulf of Mexico or in Monterey Bay and our problems will all magically go away. The world oil crisis will be postponed as the new wells come online, but I doubt if we'll see any of it. The Chinese will outbid us for it, after all, they're the only ones who've got plenty of U$ dollars to burn now.