He leaves office.

Well, that’s about it.  After all the testimony this week in Congress, today President Bush has reached a decision.  After the July draw down of troops to approximately 140,000, that’s it… at least while Dick and the Decider are making the decisions.

So, as I mentioned yesterday, the final decision on the war and the withdrawal will be left to the American citizens.  We will vote our views in November when we elect a new Commander in Chief.  Depending on how we vote, the decision will be made to stay or to come home.  I’m voting to come home in an orderly fashion, as quickly as is reasonable.  Oh, yeah.  I would love to say bring them all home on January 21, 2009.  But, I do have a little reasoning capability left in my old head. 

In the time between now and January, it appears that the Decider has heard at least some of what was said in Congress, he is getting Condoleezza Rice off her slack ass and putting her to work in the Middle East.  When I look back on the activities of past Secretaries of State, I am amazed by comparison at how inept Ms. Rice has been in executing her duties.  Think about it.  All we hear is how experienced and how well versed she is when we hear the Republicans speak of her.  The truth is that he background is in Russian policy, not the mid-East.  Yet, by the time Bush named Rice to any post, Russia was of little consequence as far as an imminent threat.  Of course, there have been strains between our country and Russia.  But, Rice, to my knowledge has done little to mend those fences.

Instead, the Secretary has done a piss poor job of overseeing the building of the most expensive embassy in the world.  Let’s just hope that she does a better job balancing her own checkbook and managing her fortunes than she has done with the $700 Million spent on the half finished embassy in Iraq.  So, with only a few months left it is doubtful that Ms. Rice will even finish the fantasy embassy construction.  Maybe the swimming pool will be completed.

Amid criticism of the diplomatic policy, or lack thereof, Bush seems to have managed to get his knickers in a twist and is beginning a “diplomatic surge.”  Excuse me while I barf!  Then, I’m going to read Dickens’ Great Expectations again.  In the meantime, our diplomatic core (do we really have one?) is heading out to the mid-East, to various countries to engage in some more of that diplomatic mental masturbation.

Let’s just hope that none of those within the circle manage to do too much more damage before January 20, 2009.