[tarheelswamprat]

I, for one, am delighted about the events of the past week.

Allegra, have you had time to get a feel for how President Bush's trip to Iraq is being viewed by the Iraqis themselves? I thought it was a masterful stroke on his part, and I hope and believe that it will result in tangible benefits on many different levels.

As one example, the scene where Prime Minister Maliki touches his heart as a gesture of respect. Our MSM has studiously avoided giving that visual much play, but is it being shown in Iraq?

[Allegra]

Al Iraqya TV covered President Bush's visit pretty much in its entirety. They stayed on the story the whole time he was here.

The Iraqis seemed pretty excited to have our leader visiting their leaders. It gave them a good morale boost and a feeling of esteem. National pride is very evident here these days as well.

Things have really been looking up over the past few days.