But while Mr. Bush's poll numbers have fallen back to prewar levels, he hasn't suffered a Blair-like collapse. Why?

One answer, surely, is the kid-gloves treatment Mr. Bush has always received from the news media, a treatment that became downright fawning after Sept. 11. There was a reason Mr. Blair's people made such a furious attack on the ever-skeptical BBC.

My father sends me Paul Krugman editorials that say the same things I've been saying for months. Thank you Paul, for being on the mark. Now, please, get your ass outta first gear, wouldja?