Speaking of Trying to Do the Right Thing

While some people shed a tear for poor, poor Judith Miller, about to spend her weekend in the hoosegow (and yes, that's how you spell that strange word; I checked), let me say a paper named the Toledo Blade has actually been doing some good journalism in its many articles about Ohio's coingate and the strangeness of the Ohio part of the 2004 election.

Today, they bring us this on Iraq:

George W. Bush, the man who set up the whole scenario with unsubstantiated claims of weapons of mass destruction, with sensational but phony arguments of the smoking gun being a "mushroom cloud," with tragically premature "mission accomplished" propaganda and inane "bring it on" bravado, wants Americans to trust him again.

He says freedom is on the march, but we can't hear any footsteps.

Most of us wish we could take the President and the Pentagon and Donald Rumsfeld at their word, but their stubborn aversion to straight talk and the plain truth makes that impossible. More than pep talks or scripted appearances and orchestrated rallies to support the troops - even as VA benefits are being cut - Americans want the truth.

No more excuses. No more using the unrelated terrorist attacks of 9/11 or terrorism in general as a crutch to explain Iraq. No more pap about taking the fight to the terrorists so we won't have to fight them at home. No more canned speeches about spreading liberty and justice for all when Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo beg to differ.