Saint David and the Romans

The Romans had bread and circuses. We have the United States Senate, which is even now going through the ritual motions of advising and consenting on David Petraeus's appointment as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. A week ago it was Obama's War. As of tomorrow it will be Petraeus's War. The most amusing aspect of this ritual is that, while the president could fire Stanley McChrystal for little or nothing, he can't fire Saint David for anything, not even if he goes trash-talking to the New York Times. If he does, he very likely will find himself running against the former four-star general in November 2012. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford