Paging Mr. Ed

With Bush continuing to threatening to veto the supplemental funding bill passed today by the senate because it suggests a timeline for troop withdrawal if the Iraqi government fails to meet the benchmarks Bush set for them when announcing his escalation surge back in January, I am reminded of a joke, alleged to have been a favorite of King Henry the 8th. To wit,

A condemned man petitions the King by stating: "Your majesty - if you spare my life for a year I will teach your horse to talk."

The King, anxious to converse with his horse, granted the request. As the prisoner was being led out of court one of the jailers asked him if he was insane.

"Not at all," replied the man. "Within a year I might die, or the King might die -or the horse might talk."

As the situation in Baghdad continues to worsen, and the Iraqi government fails to meet the requisite benchmarks, Bush and his enablers continue to ask for continued patience. Just one more Friedman unit, two tops, and the terrorists will just give up and go home (those who aren't home already anyway).

It strikes me a glaringly obvious that what the Bushies are really doing is this:

They're waiting for the horse to talk.