More fence-sitting by the nobles

I don't know about you, but the neighborhood that I live in is full of blue-collar folks, with a sprinkling of white collar types, a few entrepreneurs, and even a guy who makes his living selling stocks and bonds. Average folk, in other words. We talk about all kinds of things; the latest zinger from Lakers' coach Phil Jackson, the recent 70 mph winds of the Santa Anas from off the high desert, the recent elections, and the war in Iraq.

Once upon a time, the boys from the El Segundo electronic warfare shops would be in complete agreement with the guys from body shops that we needed to pound those A-rabs with everything we had and show them towelheads a thing or two. No messin' with America, nosiree. Us more “educated” types would argue that we had no business being there in the first place, to no avail against the hotter heads. Thus we were pretty well split into two camps: for and against the war in Iraq. Well, after four years and 3,000 war dead, not to mention the guy in the corner, back from Iraq - with a funny way of sitting over his boilermaker, staring off into space at nothing at all for hours on end - the mood has changed, down at the corner bar.

We have hashed it out, consulted with one another, singly and in groups, and after literally hundreds of hours, lots of spilled beer, and even a few harsh words (and thrown punches), arrived at own consensus on Iraq: “Let's just get the hell out of there, right now.”

So what's up with this “bipartisan” Iraq Study Group, said to be composed of “this noble group of 10”? Are they going to offer us a solution, a light at the end of the tunnel, or is it going to be “stay the course”? Here's what group member Alan K Simpson (R-WY) had to say:

“People are looking at us for a solution. Not that we're not doing a good job – but if they think that this noble group of 10 are going to solve this issue, I think people are doing a lot of heavy breathing...I think expectations of this group are seriously overrated.”

“Heavy breathing”? Hoo hoo! Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick, then what the fuck were you guys put together for?

What a waste of time. No “solution,” no “stay,” and no “go.” Just let our troops sit there and get shot at.

There used to be a word for “noble” idiots like these: mugwumps.