History Never Repeats
President Bush gave his first of five planned speeches last night leading up to the handover of sovereignty to Iraq, led by... wait for it... still waiting.... Well, whoever gets it is gonna have a good time.

Anyhoo, the speech last night offered nothing new - just a greatest hits repackaging of the messaging the administration has been volleying to and fro for the past couple weeks. The best I can say is at least they put it all into one place for easy digestion. Though I'm still quite troubled by how this administration continues to frame this as a war of destiny calling:

We did not seek this war on terror, but this is the world as we find it. We must keep our focus. We must do our duty. History is moving, and it will tend toward hope or tend toward tragedy.

Slate's William Saletan does a very good breakdown of the speech (Magical History Tour):

For a still more airbrushed version of history, consider Bush's account of his relationship with the United Nations. "At every stage, the United States has gone to the United Nations to confront Saddam Hussein, to promise serious consequences for his actions, and to begin Iraqi reconstruction," the president asserted. Forget the part where Bush reneged on his pledge to call a Security Council vote on the use of force. Forget the part where he invaded Iraq against the wishes of a majority of the council.

In other news, it looks like another one of the main coalition partners is having trouble at home. With federal elections coming up, the Australian majority Liberal party (which is really anything but) led by Lil' Johnny Howard may be going the way of Aznar in Spain--out of power (article from the Melbourne Age).