Where's the Coalition of the Willing when we need them? The best thing about the story is the overwhelmingly delusionary thinking that constantly seems to eminate from the DoD. Pretty soon, Rumsfeld, who likes to refer to Iraq as "a country the size of California," will be comparing what's going on there to what happens when the Lakers win a championship.

Meanwhile, they close the door on the place where they're supposed to learn about this stuff.

And more on deluded leaders in Time this week:

"President Bush skipped quickly past the niceties and went straight to his chief political obsession: Where are the weapons of mass destruction? Turning to his Baghdad proconsul, Paul Bremer, Bush asked, 'Are you in charge of finding WMD?' Bremer said no, he was not. Bush then put the same question to his military commander, General Tommy Franks. But Franks said it wasn't his job either. A little exasperated, Bush asked, So who is in charge of finding WMD? After aides conferred for a moment, someone volunteered the name of Stephen Cambone, a little-known deputy to Donald Rumsfeld, back in Washington. Pause. 'Who?' Bush asked."

Okay, then, who's job is it to find Osama Bin Laden? We suspected he was part of the Saudi Royal Family, but it turns out he's a member of the House of Windsor?

*****

A brief moment of sunshine in a season of dark clouds -- literally and figuratively -- for all of my friends who have the unfortunate habit of rooting for the hapless New York Metropolitans (you cannot write about the Mets in the sports section of any New York paper without using the word "hapless").