REP. SAM JOHNSON TALKS TO NEWSWEEK about the Democrats and the war.

Plus, John McCain shops in Baghdad:

“After landing at the airport we drove from the airport into various parts of the city. We stopped at Bab Sharqi market where we spent well over an hour shopping and talking with the local people,” said McCain.

“Things are better and there are encouraging signs. I have been here many times over the years. Never have I been able to drive from the airport. Never have I been able to go out into the city as I was today,” he boasted.

But read the whole piece, which has a certain, er, slant.

UPDATE: A reader emails:

Does the AP report that you linked to this morning lend some support to the Drudge report you retracted, with its reference to a reporter “giggling” in the back at the press conference? I know Ware was sitting up front. Did Drudge’s source misidentify the laugher?

Hmm. Possibly. It’s AFP, though, not AP. Which may explain the slant. Then again. . . .