NH Secretary of State Bill Gardner gets a nice piece in today's Boston Globe. Gardner really is the humble, unassuming, non-partisan guy the article makes him out to be, which is a plus for the state, and our primary.

In Iraq, things have gotten so bad that Sunni and other minority lawmakers are calling on ordinary citizens to arm themselves in self-defense (although, truth be told, I thought most Iraqis were armed already and, besides, having an AK-47 won't save you from a suicide bomber, unless you get the drop on him).

Some analysis on a "historic" editorial from the New York Times, which in yesterday's editions called for a withdrawal from Iraq. Here is some critical analysis of the same editorial. Meanwhile, in today's editions, the NYT says that some inside the White House are now talking about getting the President to agree to a withdrawal, before so many GOP lawmakers defect that the issue is forced by Congress. As I have been writing for some time, the political critical mass was reached some time ago on the continuation of the war. There is a solid majority of voting Americans who want us to get our troops out of Iraq sooner rather than later. That fact led to the GOP debacle in November of 2006 and it will lead to an even greater debacle in November of 2008 unless the issue is taken off the table. The only way it can be taken off the table is to have a withdrawal plan in place by the time folks go out to vote. This doesn't mean that all out troops need to be out of Iraq, just that a recognized withdrawal plan is being implemented. If the Democrats are arguing that it is not going fast enough, that can be put into the context of normal political debate. Other issues will take precedence. The Democrats could still win the election, but at least the Republicans will have a fighting chance. Bob Novak writes about how the President is getting the message, if he is getting the message, about the political reality on the Hill.

The larger war, of course, goes on. In Pakistan, the government may have to storm a mosque filled with Islamist radicals (and some folks who probably would leave if given the chance). It won't be pretty, and it could lead to larger civil unrest. Arnaud de Borchgrave outlines the details, and it makes for sobering reading, especially when you consider that Pakistan is a nuclear power.

Finally, Turkey is massing troops on the Iraq border. Have a nice day.