Bush: Et tu, Salt Lake Tribune?

It's not often a political cartoon evokes a lump in the throat.

This one sure does, though.

Am I alone in thinking that was an odd choice of words for Condoleeza? A woman so well-versed in practicing very, very careful deception? Thousands.

A year or so ago, one Sunday morning, I was sleeping on the couch with the TV on. I woke up for a couple of minutes, and heard Condi's voice on Meet The Press still trying to sell this fucking war - despite it being already two years old.

"But Tim, everyone, not just the United States, believed that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction..."

"But Tim, the Iraqi people are FREE now..."

"But Tim, we just don't give one leap-frogging fuck about any of the other tyrants and despots that are sprinkled around the globe..."

blah, blah, endlessly nauseatingly blah.

And now she slips up (or, perhaps, is following orders and changing her tactics in the big effort to spike GW's poll rating ) and actually tells us something that lacks the usual arrogance and seems dangerously close to the truth.

But regardless of whether this is just a case of bad wording, or whether it is a calculated move, it doesn't matter. She, and the rest of this crew of maniacs are finally, FINALLY feeling some pressure.

The Jedi Mind-Trick is losing it's power. The fog of blind panic and fear from September 11th is starting to dissipate. Critical thought and reason are returning, like patches of blue sky peeking out through the clouds.

And Condi's reward for her "honesty" is the starring role in an editorial cartoon that punctures like a nail bomb.

Fortunately for her, only in the figurative sense.