Condi, Condi's grand strategy for Iraq

I know that I've been uncharacteristically harshing on Bob "the Daily Howler" Somerby lately.  But I still like to steal his phrases.  And as the Howler might say, our Potemkin press corps just luu-uuvs Darling Condi.

So it's not surprising that Condi-Condi has been applauded for her Congressional testimony this past week on the Iraq War.  If David Shields and Tom Oliphant on the PBS Newshour Friday are any measure (and they normally are), the punditocracy is performing as expected, praising her brilliant statement of war aims and her pronouncement of a "victory strategy."

Ivo Daalder, being one of those dull foreign policy experts, isn't going along with the Big Pundits: Why We're in Iraq TPM Cafe 10/19/05.  Quoting her statement of war objectives, he writes, "Now, read that again, and tell me if this is serious."

He does find a bright spot in her testimony, though:

Which leaves me with this thought: the limited nature of these objectives suggests that the administration may finally be realizing the extraordinary disaster we're in and is trying, desperately, to find a way to declare victory so we can get out.

We can only hope along with him in that regard.

But even as anti-establishment a figure as songwriter Steve Earle can advise Ivo on how to get with the program on praising Darling Condi (another phrase pilfered from the Howler):

So skank for me, Condi
Show me what you got
They say you're too uptight
I say you're not
Dance around me, spinning like a top
Oh, Condi, Condi, Condi, don't ever stop
                        - Steve Earle, "Condi, Condi"