Further news roundup

Catching up on some other news and notes....1] Read this, by two analysts from the relatively-liberal Brookings Institution. They suggest that the military situation in Iraq is turning around for the better. It's especially significant because they were predisposed to find otherwise. But they didn't. The U.S. can get the job done in Iraq. 2] Some say Fred [Thompson] flopped, because his fundraising didn't meet "expectations". Good grief. The obvious comment is that he hasn't even officially ANNOUNCED his candidacy yet! But beyond that, remember: other campaigns--rival campaigns--love to leak negative stuff about their opponents. I suspect that's what's happening here. 3] And see this hilarious (and spot-on) quote from Jonah Goldberg.