MORE SMOKE BUT NOT MUCH GUN:
President Bush Makes His Case, Almost

Last night in his State of the Union address, President Bush repeated his intention to disarm Saddam Hussein, including unilaterally by force. Fewer folks than yours truly would like to see Hussein become another page in history, and lickety-split. He's clearly a major source of instability in the Middle East, and seems to have learned nothing from his defeat in Desert Storm 12 years ago. Except, perhaps, that the UN will drag its heels about living up to its warnings and resolutions. But the public was promised a "smoking gun" in the form of new evidence linking Hussein to Al Queda. It didn't happen. What we got instead was a better argument for taking military action against the Butcher of Bagdad, but an argument based on speculation about what Hussein might do if he had X, Y, and X, not an argument based on heretofore unrevealed hard facts.

We need more, Mr. President.