The United States of Arbusto

[Updated below]

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

-- The Charge of the Light Brigade
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Over at Slate, John Dickerson's take on President Bush's latest last chance, throwing another 21,500 troops into Iraq:

Two months ago, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley wondered whether Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was clueless, incompetent, or devious. Now, Bush is betting the farm on him.

[snip]

The president isn't just asking the American people to buy into a new military strategy for Baghdad; he's asking the country to embrace Iraqi leadership that, in the same speech, the president portrayed as so fragile it would collapse if U.S. troops pulled back.

"Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me," the president said last night. "Failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States."

Like his presidency.

Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention. -- Molly Ivins

Update:

Per the New York Times, when asked by Congressional leaders on Wednesday why he thought his latest, greatest plan for Iraq stabilization would succeed where his earlier efforts failed, Bush replied: “Because it has to.”