Let's go over a few items of interest about the war in Iraq.  The troops are getting worn out.  Many of them are on their second and third tour in the theater. It's straining the families, the marriages, and the military units.  It's also become anti-Bush fodder for the democrats.  Democrats on Saturday touted legislation to guarantee troops time at home between deployments to Iraq.  Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher from California said, "The president's surge has sent many of our Army units to Iraq for the second and third time. We are asking our troops to make heroic sacrifices yet as soon as they return we rush them back into battle." The new law would require that regular military units returning from the war receive at least as much time at home as they spent in Iraq. Reserve units would get a home stay three times as long as they spent in the war zone.

How worn out are the troops?  The Army is having such a hard time recruiting new troops, and an equally difficult time keep them more than two or three years.  It's so bad that President Bush's "War Tsar" is advising the President to consider implementing the draft. Are you ready to get drafted and go to Iraq?  Do you want your sons to be drafted?  But . . . rest assured that the President's daughters, and the children of powerful politicians won't be drafted.  They'll be safe and sound drinking, partying, and writing books with mom.

But, is it getting any safer in Iraq? A powerful roadside bomb on Saturday killed the governor and police chief of a southern province that has seen fierce internal fighting between Shiite factions. The bomb struck a convoy carrying the Khalil Jalil Hamza, the governor of the Qadisiyah province, and the provincial police chief home from a funeral service for a tribal sheik.

Aren't we over-stating how bad it is? A car bomb struck a market in a Kurdish area in the northern city of Kirkuk on Friday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens of citizens. The blast tore through the stalls as the market was packed with afternoon shoppers buying vegetables and household goods in a predominantly Kurdish area.  South of Baghdad, a US helicopter was forced down, leaving two soldiers injured. 

Is there anything good to report?  Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is in Iraq and he says, "I am pleased to see firsthand ... the progress that the men and women of the Justice Department have made to rebuild Iraq's legal system and law enforcement infrastructure."  Do you believe him? I don't!

So. . .what is President Bush doing right now about this?  He's on vacation!  Yes, he really is - -again!  He's in Kennebunkport, Maine, having a "sit-down" with  French President Nicolas Sarkozy. President Bush is on track to become the most vacationed president in history!  And that's a wrap.