How sublimely ingenuous that democrats in the House of Representatives berated General Patraeus and Ambassador Crocker about the Iraqi government not being able to achieve concensus on highly contentious issues. The cat was calling the kettle black. The Iraqi government is a representative government in which each member stubornly represents the cultural/sectarian constituency that sent him. Not much different that our houses of Congress at times. Members of the Iraqi government at least have an excuse for not budging from their positions. If they make concessions, they risk being assassinated by their constituents. Ambassador Crocker reported that the Iraqi government, though it had not acheived its formal milestones, was in fact getting the work done. That approach makes sense: lets just do it; if it works and we like it, we can formalize it later. Too bad we are not capable of comprehending that a grass roots, organic approach to law, order and government is perfectly acceptable. Too bad we have forgotten that our own Constitution has been a living, growing reference for us.

As always, the enlightened will appreciate the spirit of the law while the unenlightened insist on the letter of the law.