According to a report, congressional candidate Kaloogian who ran a bogus picture of Baghdad on his website, did so in part because:

The candidate said he hadn’t recognized the error because “the military asked us to use our discretion and put things on the Internet that were nondescriptive … (because) if we posted something that was easily identifiable, it could be a target.”

Ohhhh, perhaps that‘s why the liberal media isn’t reporting good news from Iraq: we’re winning and we don’t want the terrorists to see the evidence of our success. Yes, let’s keep this victory our little secret.

Kevin Drum:

This is the central mystery of George Bush: How does this man-child with such an obviously mediocre mind manage to generate such intense loyalty in so many people?

The comment is directed toward his staff, but can also be applied to many voters.
I get appreciating a president if you agree with his ideology. Or in some cases (not the present one) being attracted to his personality. But you listen to some of the people at his staged events, and they sound as if they believe Bush is God’s gift to humanity. Not only is it odd, but frankly it’s a disturbing.

James Wolcott:

More and more, I’m sensing that the 2006 midterms, for better or worse, will be a Lou Dobbs election. (No single forum was more instrumental for aborting the Dubai ports deal than his.) The midterms will be fought not over cultural-war values like gay marriage or abortion, but over the sorts of economic and sovereignty issues Dobbs hammers on about every weeknight on CNN: the squeeze on the middle class; Washington’s runaway budgets and the explosion in deficit; the gutting of pensions; the hollowing-out of America’s industrial base; the war over immigration; globalization and free trade.

I’m not sure yet about the trade part, but we could well see “middle class” issues come to the fore, especially if health care and energy costs continue to climb. And immigration could heat up too, especially if we see gatherings Mexican-flag-waving demonstrators. I have a feeling that won’t go over to well in the “heartland.”

Looks like the White House stagecraft machine is operating at full steam. Here’s a photo of President Bush speaking yesterday in West Virginia. Note the not one but two large signs proclaiming “Plan for Victory.”
I don’t know what the future holds for Iraq. It’s conceivable that someday life there might be better than it once was. But after the pitfalls of the past three years, can anyone rationally believe that such an outcome would be the result of a masterful White House “plan”?
Sadly, many Americans aren’t too rational these days.

The Tour de Georgia 2006 is coming to Chattanooga and Herbert at Litespeed has a related blog.
Although I appreciate the demands of a cycling race, I’m thinking it’s not that great of a spectator event. By and large, you sit there and for a few seconds see the riders zoom by, and that’s pretty much it. Seems even worse than a golf event; at least there you can move around and see different parts of the course.
I see Litespeed, in Ooltewah, has tours of their factory available. That would be pretty cool to see. I went to college just a few miles from there, but at the time didn’t even notice that the place existed. Alas.
In other Chattanooga-area bicycling news, I’m thinking about doing my first 3 State 3 Mountain Challenge this May. I gather it’s a good event, and they’ve already got over 1,400 people registered for this year’s ride. The biggest hurdle in participating is that it’s early in the season to be in good enough shape to do a century. Although I’ve basically been riding throughout the winter, the longest ride I’ve done in 2006 is 42 miles. [Long rides and cold temperatures don’t mix well for me.] Better get cracking and hope for some nice warm weekends in April.