Several good pieces from the Washington Post.  The first is a piece indicating that President Bush's negatives are as high as Nixon's and never has a President been so unpopular for as long except for Truman.  History won't render its verdict for years.  The tragedy of the Bush Administration is that he was close to being a near great in the initial aftermath of toppling Saddam Hussein.  Unfortunately, (and here I agree with John McCain) the second phase was poorly planned with no clear idea what to do to really guarantee "democracy."  It was ambitious and, in the end, I firmly believe a moral act, but history remembers winners fondly and losers poorly.  All this said, if Iraq turns a corner, there is the chance that the President's historical legacy will be much brighter in retrospect than now (it might help too if the media were less wedded to the idea of America losing as our penance for hubris).

The second talks about how many Republicans like Rudy's "electability."  This is probably his great strength along with his tough on terror stance.  I do think Thompson has th potential to move way up with his numbers as McCain continues to fade.

Finally, this article talks about the suffering of Uganda as it has been assaulted for years by the Lord's Resistance Army (or LRA).  This group is so brutal it regularly maims villagers and brainwashes young men to turn into killers (a lot like the rebels in the movie Blood Diamond).  Things like this make me think of "Heart of Darkness" as referered to in the article and Kurtz's "horror."  How thin in the line we tread from peace to depravity.  Often, I am afraid, thinner than any would like to acknowledge.  However, with every darkness, there is brightness too.  It appears Uganda may finally get some rays.  Few deserve more after dealing with LRA and Idi Amin before that.