Forest through the trees

I'm real busy at work today, but I wanted to at least mention the whole brouhaha over Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria and today's baseless Washington Post editorial bashing her for it. I think the Carpetbagger gets it right.

Pelosi is demonstrating leadership abilities that the White House and its allies resent. She is, for lack of a better phrase, making the president look bad, and the media feels compelled (for some reason) to acknowledge the Republican push-back and report on it in a non-critical fashion.

Leadership. That's the bottom line. And if the GOP was a bit smarter they would follow her lead because basically, though with a few twists and turns, she is following the Iraq Study Group recommendations. The GOP could use her, and the ISG, as political cover to help get them out the electoral freefall they are in, and will continue to be in, come 2008. But Republicans are not very smart, and they enjoy their dirty politics too much to help themselves, or the country, beyond this rhetorical moment.

Update: Pelosi strikes back!