Here We Go Again

This New York Times headlines captures the new post-Saddam meme the press will take:

2 Car Bombers Attack Iraqi Police, as Insurgency Continues

The lede reads:

Two suicide bombers exploded cars outside Iraqi police stations today, killing at least six people and themselves, and wounding 22, in an apparent sign that the insurgency aimed at American occupation forces and the Iraqis who work with them is continuing despite the capture of Saddam Hussein. [Emphasis added.]

The unspoken assumption is, “Now that Saddam is in our hands, you told us the fighting would end, but it hasn’t. Liar.” Except Bush said no such thing. From yesterday’s address:

I also have a message for all Americans: The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East.

Nevertheless, the many in the press will try to make you think that Saddam’s capture is supposed to mean an end to the violence, and that Bush will have failed if it doesn’t happen.