It’s been lite blogging this holiday season. We’ve been on the road and then back here hosting, so I haven’t had much time to write. Some quick thoughts …

The capture of Hussein is just as important as it seems. His specific demise, whether at the hands of the Iraqi people or an international judiciary, is not as imporant as the symbolism of his capture. Here was one of the most feared and powreful men in the Middle East who thought nothing of waging war with Iraq, Kuwait, and against his own people for decades. In the end, he was found cowering in a hole in the ground, too frightened and exhausted to put up a fight. We’ve already seen the effect in Libya and Iran. It’s only a matter of time before nations like Syria and the Palestinians will come to understand that America is serious when is talks about hunting down terrorists.

On the homefront, things look great for Bush. The economy has bounced back strong really ever since the summer. Third quarter numbers seemed to have spurred the markets at the end of the year. At the same time, the Democratic candidates are imploding, bickering amongst themselves and scrambling to find an issue for this campaign.

The most telling thing I’ve seen about Howard Dean’s complete misunderstanding of foreign policy was this quote about Osma bin Laden:

“I’ve resisted pronouncing a sentence before guilt is found. I will have this old-fashioned notion that even with people like Osama, who is very likely to be found guilty, we should do our best not to, in positions of executive power, not to prejudge jury trials.”

That sentiment alone should be enough to disqualify this man from running for president. Kerry, Gephardt, and Lieberman can’t jump on Dean fast enough for saying something as misinformed as that. Dean may win this nomination, but his chances of beating Bush look slimmer and slimmer every day.