that wasn't actually a dare

John Kerry isn't the only one spinning like a top today; Howard Dean echoes the non sequitur that the capture of Saddam underlines the need for greater UN involvement.

But enough of politicians; this is a golden opportunity to follow up on my essay from late last week. Not that the material below is original—I'm shamelessly borrowing from NRO's The Corner. Do go there for much, much more.

First, from today's NYT, Frank Rich (registration required) has a case of very bad timing.

The “Top Gun” image of George W. Bush's victory landing on an aircraft carrier has been officially recalled. Since the mission was not accomplished after all, we were given a replacement tableau of the president bestowing Thanksgiving grub on troops stuck in a long, hard slog.

And of course The Turkey shows up in the accompanying photo. Also note that, as in the Time magazine article I discuss here, the subject of Rich's article is current…movies.

Next, running commentary on commentary by ABC's Terry Moran:

At 8:10, ABC's Terry Moran started discussing how a trial will not be great for the United States, for it will “come out” how the U.S. “had a very interesting relationship” with Saddam for 15 years. Hasn't that already “come out,” Terry? As in ABC hanging it around Bush One's neck on a regular basis back in the day?

more:

Terry Moran, about 20 minutes later, discussing the problems of giving Saddam a fair trail. He said that the Nazi leadership who were tried at Nuremburg were “railroaded.” He immediately qualified this remark by adding “in the eyes of many jurists today.”

The Beeb:

I'm am American expat living in London, and I was listening to BBC London (Radio 5) shortly after the announcement of Saddam's capture. The host of a call-in show was going on about how the Americans unnecessarily subjected Saddam to humiliation by showing the video of him being given a medical exam and being unwashed and unshaven. She termed it “serial humiliation”, and asked “what's next, beheading him and parading his head on a pole around Baghdad”? It's absolutely amazing how so many here dredge up hatred for the U.S. no matter what.

Our own NPR repeats the “humiliation” charge.

ABC again:

At 12:20, ABC's Charlie Gibson came out of the Bush speech saying it was a good day, after all those casualties “since President Bush declared an end to the fighting.” Sigh. He declared an end to “MAJOR combat operations.” The media have repeated that in their regular casualty-count reports, so Gibson has no excuse for leaving the false impression.

And finally, Christiane Amanpour, last heard complaining that her own CNN was intimidated by the Administration and by Fox News during the war, now trying desperately to rain on the parade: “Well, let’s not forget, Osama Bin Laden is still at large, as are hundreds wanted by the Hague…”

UPDATE: Terry Moran explains.