Mixed reviews...

No, not another F911 item. Once the wingers got though bashing Michael Moore sight unseen, the news for his new film has been pretty good. Iraqis are starting to weigh in on Way New™ sovereignty, though, and so far they seem to range from unimpressed to disdainful.

The AP hit the streets and found some discouraging words.

"I feel I'm still occupied. You can't find anywhere in the world people who would accept occupation. America these days is like death. Nobody can escape from it." - Qassim al-Sabti, artist in Baghdad.

****

"When we regain our security, safety and jobs, we will celebrate then. When I can go out for dinner with my friends after 9 p.m, we will celebrate." - Ahmed Karim, 31, of Baghdad.

****

"The new government will abide by the orders of the occupation. There could never be sovereignty or independence in Iraq while there's one occupation soldier in my country." - retired Iraqi government employee Adnan Hamad, 75, in Jordan.

And the New York Times reporters didn't fare much better.

"I hope it's good," said Mr. Ansary, 28, the store owner. "If the Americans stay here, nothing will change. They need to pull out of the cities. We don't want to see their Humvees around."

****

"Bremer has left, but the strings attached to the new government are very long," (Ms. Akuli) said, referring to L. Paul Bremer III, the chief American administrator in Iraq, who flew out of the country to Kuwait around noon. "They can be pulled from Washington."

"Our leaders are just toys," she added. "They have independent thought, but they don't have independent action, which is the most important thing."

****

"State employees are benefiting under the new government," said Ali Khadhum, 38, a salesman in a furniture store in the Jamaa neighborhood. "They have good jobs and better pay. But what about ordinary citizens? What about all the people with no jobs? Will the new government provide more jobs? What will happen to them in the future Iraq?"

****

"Everybody is backing Sistani and Sadr," Mr. Abdul-Wahid said, referring to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most powerful Shiite cleric in Iraq. "They are our marjaiyah, our high clerics, and we follow them 100 percent. The Americans and the new government will be like Saddam. They won't give a big role to the clerics. They won't be allowed to have a big influence on the people."

The bottom line?

At a nearby bookstore, the owner, Harith Anvar, 23, pointed out the obvious: No one's life had actually changed yet. Nor were there any immediate signs that that would happen.