Stephen Green catches a wave when he notes...

Bush may be setting a “Conciliation Trap” for the Democrats. Stephen allows as how the current group of Democratic leaders (with some exceptions) aren’t the most engaging people on the block. We could make a list of the humorless and the enraged here (supply your own), and I think it’s smart strategy, but I don’t agree with Stephen that Bush seems such an extreme lame duck – and that’s part of the reasons for the Dems perpetually sour mood. With some exceptions, the President seems to be getting a fair percentage of what he wants from Iraq to the Supreme Court. And as for whether his Iraq policy worked (nuanced or not) we may not know for decades. This was a big historical roll of the dice and those who think they can seriously measure its success now amaze me. But measure we do because that’sthe business of politics.