[Miss Marple]

You make a good point about PR. However, the demonstrations today didn't get nearly the attention I thought they would. In addition, the New York Times came down on the side of the administration and for the war, which quite surprised me.

Since the media, like lemmings, follow the Times, we will see more pro-war stuff from them. I can only conclude that Howell Raines was given a briefing and told to get on board.

I expect that pretty soon a few papers in Britain, as well as the BBC, will begin to change their tune. After all, the British are notoriously disdainful of the French. A few weeks of playing that asinine French foreing minister on BBC and Sky News, and we won't be having too many more demonstrations, I think. (I am only saying this half-humorously.)

You are right that there is a fine line to be walked, and the president is doing so. He came in at the nick of time with that excellent State of the Union speech followed by Powell's presentation, and support for the war soared.

I just think a lot of people are overreacting to the UN. Nothing was a surprise to me, since I expect little from that group.

At any rate, we will see the next act of this drama next week, and I expect all of us will be surprised.

[Wolfstar]

I hate the UN and remain sorry that the President chose to go that route. I, like many others on the Right side of the politial spectrum, do not believe our foreign policy should be held hostage to phony global governance institutions. However, since the President did choose that route, he's stuck with having to continue to play it out. I think if that latest UN deadline (3/14) passes, and we are all still be playing this year's great guessing game, the President will begin to be in serious trouble here at home. I do not want to see that happen.