Dale,

I was thinking something along the lines of what you just posted. Here we are, middle class Americans, with many common cultural reference points (religion, education, language, to name but a few), and we fight like cats and dogs. How can we expect the disparate and desperate groups in Iraq to coalesce into a democracy? And I don't vaguely resemble Howard Dean! Geez, I'm 6' 5"!  And Andrea, I'll email you privately regarding our buddy to the north. Off to see John Edwards and Wes Clark. They are not a mile from the house today. In fact, last night, all of the Dems, save for Sharpton, were just four streets away at a fund raiser. Oh well, by Wednesday, all that will remain are empty coffee cups, frayed campaign posters, and unpaid hotel bar bills.

Peter T.