Scenes from behind the TimesSelect wall

By Creature

Dowd on Rummy's goodbye bash:

Just imagine the send-off a defense secretary would have gotten who hadn’t sabotaged the Army, Iraq, global security, our chance to get Osama, our moral credibility, the deficit and American military confidence.

Dowd on The Decider's big F.U. to his daddy's rescue:

W. seems gratified by the idea that rather than having his ears boxed by his father’s best friend, he’s going to go down swinging, or double down, in the metaphor du jour, on his macho bet in Iraq. He’s reading about Harry Truman and casting himself as a feisty Truman, but he’s heading toward late L.B.J. The White House budget office is studying how much it will cost to finance The Surge, an infusion of 20,000 to 50,000 troops into Baghdad to make one last try at “victory.” The policy would devolve from “We stand down as they stand up” to “We stand up more and maybe someday they will, too.”

There is nothing more dangerous than a lame-duck with his back against the wall.

Pay-per-view Dowd can be found here.

(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)