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Is the man in the center the new Iraqi president? If so, what an impressive moment on so many levels.

Here is the bier of the leader who made today's military, cultural, economic, and political hyperpower what it is. Facing it is the first freely elected president in Iraq's long, ancient history - replacing one of the most brutal regimes in the new age, which has just fallen to this late American's vision of the greatness of our nation.

Flanking him is the honor guard of the combined military which subdued one and then two of the most belligerent states on the Earth. He has probably seen more than most of us what the state-of-the-art military of the United States can do in a live, committed performance.

The most impressive national display of piety in three decades. Even the sudden, momentary evacuation of the waiting mourners and staff from the Capitol didn't dampen the mood or the details of the week's events.

How would it feel to be in the shoes of the new Iraqi President? The natural theater of the last years is proving compelling. We're now demonstrating the full dignity of our nation after a long and trivial series of press-inflated embarrassments.