Another turning point in Iraq

Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's extended his Mahdi Army's cease-fire another six months on Friday (Rick Moran, links to the story and comments at The American Thinker). The importance of this should not be overlooked, although it largely has been by the MSM.

It's not that Mookie's militia is lying low waiting for the Americans to leave, so that can spring up afterwards to ignite another round of sectarian violence. It's not that he's doing it for us, or for the greater good of the Iraqi people. He's doing it because he does not have a choice. It would be political suicide (and maybe literal suicide too) for Mookie to end the cease-fire at this point.

It appears at this point, that the majority of the Iraqi people have turned the page as a group, and have seen a brighter tomorrow with more freedom and prosperity, and less killing.

Cheers.

No Tomatoes Were Thrown

So that was good news for John McCain as he delivered his CPAC speech today. The speech was relatively well received, but expectations were so low, it wasn't too hard for McCain to pleasantly surprise many observers and pundits. McCain has started the process of winning over the base, but he's got a long way to go (and many will never be converted). The good news for McCain is he has nine months to work on this project. A political eternity.

The FDC thought the speech was about as good of a performance that one could ever hope to get out of McCain, and yes he seemed sincere to this observer, and he reinforced our view on McCain posted here recently.

McCain's team must have worked on several drafts of the speech, because it was completely different than the supposed final draft obtained by Rick Moran over at The Right Wing Nuthouse. (Wink -wink.)

The Top 10 Political Speeches of All Time

Rick Moran (one of the best bloggers out there) has a run-down of his top 10 political speeches of all time. It's an amazing list that should remind Americans how proud they should be of our history.

He pegs our hero's speech at Point Du Hoc in 1984 in at #6. This was the speech Reagan gave at the 40th anniversary of D-Day.

Moran: "I challenge anyone – conservative or liberal – to watch this June 6, 1984 speech in its entirety and not get choked with emotion."

Video here.