Marketplace of Lies

So senator and presidential hopeful John McCain was touring Iraq with a coterie of republicans. They announced how safe it was to walk around Baghdad, and that the open air market was just like an open air market in Indiana.

I was gratified to read in the New York Times an interview with several of the Iraqi merchants. They complained that the notoriety brought by the descent of a hoard of American politicians was likely to make the market even more dangerous than it already is. They pointed out that the politicians considered it safe only while the market was closed off by a security cordon including hovering air support, in the company of over 100 heavily armed soldiers, and that the americans all wore body armor. Nice day for shopping. The Iraqi merchants shook their heads at the ridiculousness of the publicity stunt. The article also mentions one general buying a small $1 rug, paying for it with a $20 bill, and saying imperiously, keep the change. Hmmm, didn't know you could use dollars in Iraq. Can you say, "neo-colonial occupation"?

It's clear that John McCain is walking down the path of lies laid for him by the current administration. Not sure why he thinks that might be a winning strategy but it sure is evidence, as I have long argued, that he's a nutcase.

In other news Hillary Clinton wants to keep U.S. bases in Iraq after her promised withdrawal, or more properly, wants to keep her options open in case her triangulation team decides she needs a different position. Yeah, keeping U.S. bases in Iraq sounds like a great idea. She is really a monster.

Finally, I heard a wonderful interview with Dennis Kucinich, also running a sadly hopeless campaign for president. His strong and completely hedge-free (listen up, Obama!) views on the need to withdraw from Iraq immediately remind me why I voted for him back in the 2004 primary. Too bad he seems not to have a snowball's chance in American hell.

Paranoid conspiracy theory of the moment: So the republicans seem to be having such a hard time picking a candidate who's not crazy or tarred by inelectibility. What if they killed off Dick Cheney and appointed a Bush-approved veep who could then be annointed as successor in time for the elections? Keep your eyes peeled. Also keep your eyes peeled for the resemblance between Rudy Giuliani and Count Chocula.