I haven't been following it closely, but you have to admit that Obama is looking and acting very presidential on his trip to the Middle East. It appears U.S. soldiers were even allowed to afford him an enthusiastic reception.

My favorite part was the press conference [1] where he says he reminded Gen. Petraeus who's the boss, and it's the Commander in Chief not the generals. (Our present Commander in Chief notwithstanding. Sending troops to solve a political and diplomatic problem is like sending the Bush cabinet to storm the beaches of Normandy, led by Cheney and Rice.)

I also like that McCain is reduced to having a tantrum [2] about the network media coverage and that Fox didn't get invited [3] to go along. Now they're both whining like a couple of cry babies.

It also seems that Bush is trying to take Iraq off the table as an election issue by suddenly suggesting there's a "horizon" beyond which U.S. troops will be home. Wonder if it also had anything to do with the Iraq PM calling for a withdrawal and now agreeing with Obama [4] on a timetable? Either way, it appears McCain is left all alone standing in the corner with his 100 year strategy.

And what's the deal with Chuck Hagel accompanying Obama? Hmmm...