Nancy nailed it…

…yesterday.

I didn't watch or listen to Bush's speech. I did read the transcript, but I just can't bear the smirks, sneers and smug self-satisfaction that invariably define his delivery. Instead, I listened to a recording of Speaker Pelosi's comments from the conference call I listened in on yesterday, and she really said all that needs to be understood about the "new" scheme (nothing about it rises to the level of an actual strategy).

"The same poor judgment that got us to where we are now is what he wants us to respect as he goes forward."

A couple more notes from the call. The Speaker noted that with as many as 100 thousand civilian contractors representing American corporations in Iraq and a new law allowing western companies to suck up 75% of Iraq's oil economy, which is about 95% of Iraq's total economy, "We have an opportunity now…to show the American people what it is that they're asking our kids to sacrifice their lives for."

Those are some hearings I want to hear.

She sees beyond the opportunities of the majority, though, and described the responsibilities as well, saying "We have to be clear to the American people that we heard them in the election and have to be clear to the President that he must hear us, as voices of the people."

Sic 'em, Madam Speaker.