Weekend Round-Up

THE MOST IMPORTANT things to read this weekend:

• POTUS unveiled his new Iraq arguement this week: 'it could be worse.' For three years we have been told time and time again that we are 'making progress' in Iraq - much more progress that we realize. We've been told that the reason American's don't think the war is going well is because the media never reports on the 'good things happening in Iraq.' Now Bush tells us that it could be worse. It seems to me that this change in rhetoric reflects a broader pessimism within the administrion -- even in it's most optimistic corners -- that the venture in Iraq has taken a significant turn for the worse in recent weeks and months. WaPo is one of many papers writing about this.
• Much Ado About Macaca. This is big news around DC. Again, the Post has the story, including a good column by Dana Milbank.
• The LA Times is happy that France is finally stepping up to the table.
• Amir Taheri writes in the WSJ that Hezbollah did not win.
• Chatham House, a prominent British think tank based at King's College, recently published a report in which they argue that Iran may be the chief beneficiary of the war on terror. An excerpt:

  There is little doubt that Iran has been the chief beneficiary of the war on terror in the middle east...Iran...has now superseded the US as the most influential power [in Iraq].

  Hmmm. Chew on that for a minute.
• Next time you rent a car, take a moment to consider what you are doing -- from a Freakonomics point of view.