Mother, may I?

Iraqi Premier Calls Bush to Discuss Obstacles to Election: If there was ever any doubt about who is in charge of Iraq after we turned "sovereignty" over to the Iraqi Interim Government in June, this seems to be a clear signal that it isn't the Iraqi Interim Government.

But some officials in Washington and in Iraq interpreted the telephone call as a sign that Dr. Allawi, who is clearly concerned his own party could be headed to defeat if the election is held on schedule, may be preparing the ground to make the case for delay to Mr. Bush.

"Clearly the thinking on this is still in motion in Baghdad," a senior administration official said Monday evening. "And President Bush is holding firm," the official said, telling Dr. Allawi that the Iraqi government has met every deadline so far, including assuming power from the United States in June.

Mr. Bush has publicly insisted that the elections must go forward on Jan. 30, as scheduled, and said any delay would mean giving in to the insurgents who have vowed to stop the elections from taking place.

Dr. Allawi: Things are pretty f***ed up here, I think we need to postpone the elections.

Dubya: What are you talking about? It's been a catatrophic success. NFW, we postpone the elections, it shows we haven't got big brass ones.

Dr. Allawi: But... WTF! They just killed the Governor of Baghdad!

Dubya: Suck it up, get back to your campaigning. Don't be a whimp! Things are going just fine.

My guess is that Dubya plans on declaring victory on Feb 1 and pulling out. Maybe that would be the best for all concerned.