The Judy War

Hartford Courant columnist Denis Horgan seems to envy Miller's freedom:

"Say, how do I get a job at The New York Times?

"What a great place to work! No rules. No editors. No standards. You can do whatever you want. I could be the next Jayson . . . oops, Judith . . . Miller.

"Apparently they don't have bosses at the Times. What a Shangri La. Like Jayson Blair, Judith Miller . . . could get away with anything there.

"Her reporting was so lousy on the bogus and dishonest and flat-out-falsified reasons to have a war on Iraq that she's nearly an accomplice, yet she is carried on the payroll just as if she were actually a good, honest reporter rather than a stenographer for the government."

There's that war theme again.

President Bush's polling problems haven't gone away:

"Beset by political and economic troubles at home and a difficult war in Iraq, President Bush's job approval rating has slipped to 39%, the lowest measure of his presidency, according to a USA TODAY /CNN/Gallup Poll.

"Bush, whose approval rating hit 55% shortly after he was re-elected last November, has been below 50% approval since May. But this marks the first time he has fallen below 40%, a level that until now had been his floor. . . .

"Analysts attribute the latest erosion to multiple factors:

"· The continued problems of managing the recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

"· The possible indictment of top White House aides in a grand jury inquiry into the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity.