Why do I get sucked back into reading the tripe of James Taranto? It's a bit like insisting on smelling the sour milk, or watching a car crash.

Today, Taranto in his infinite wisdom provides some samples of polls showing that "the Dems are all wet." Yes, Americans are very hopeful about Iraq; they're very hopeful about most things. But Taranto selectively parses and picks segments of a poll to make broader points -- that ain't gonna fly.

How about the many polls showing the general public believes this administration went to war on lies and faulty intel? Now that we're there, the public obviously would like to see good come from it, but change the subject to events leading up to the war itself, and you get quite a different answer(s).

I love the way Taranto and other wingnuts only focus on the supposed aim of our presence in Iraq currently, given how the WMD et al -- you know, the original impetus for invading -- was a big bust.

Nahh, let's just forget all about the hot air regarding the aluminum tubes, the yellow cake, the link to 9-11, etc. Instead, let's focus on freeing the people and spreading democracy -- exactly what GW campaigned against in 2000 (recall his non-nation-building rhetoric?). But like most Republicans, it's the end, not the means, that matters most (anyone remember Iran-Contra?).