MORE ON THE SURGE: “An independent commission created by Congress said Thursday that U.S. forces in Iraq could give a larger role to the Iraqi Army by early next year, if the Iraqi forces continued to improve. . . . Congressional Democrats expressed immediate skepticism, saying in a hearing that they feared the Bush administration would selectively use this, parts of other recent reports and much-awaited assessments due from senior U.S. officials in Baghdad next week – including a major congressional briefing Sept. 11 – as part of a campaign to press for still more patience.”

So they set up an independent panel to dilute the impact of the Petraeus Report. Then when it reports something that doesn’t fit the talking points, they express “immediate skepticism.”

As Don Surber comments: “That loud gulp you heard is from the 49 Democratic senators, independent Bernie Sanders and Republican Chuck Hagel. Remember, the No. 3 House Democrat, James Clyburn of South Carolina, said in July that good news from Iraq is ‘a real big problem for us.’ . . . Sabotaging their own report does not help Democrats.”