The night was spent at the Best Western around the corner and in all probability tonight will be also. At home this morning to pick up a couple of things and before running off to work I thought I’d at least read my email. Hopefully, today will see enough progress for another nights stay to be unnecessary…but I doubt it.

Email brought a confirmation of the story that has been percolating through the blogs for weeks…

Petraeus report: White House will write war assessment | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle

Supporters of the war in Iraq ask that Congress and the public wait until next month before judging whether the surge in U.S. troops is raising the level of security. By Sept. 15, Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander on the ground, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker are to report on military and political progress in Iraq.The problem with that request, as White House spokesmen repeatedly explained to the press last week, is that there isn’t going to be a report by Petraeus and Crocker to Congress and the U.S. public. The Sept. 15 report will be written by the White House staff and sent to Congress above President Bush’s signature. The president’s report ostensibly will take into account suggestions made by Petraeus and Crocker, but the public will not know how closely the military assessment from the war zone tracks the political imperatives of the White House.

Which pretty much says that no matter what the report is going to say exactly what the President has been saying for months…Just like every report that has come out of this administration since they fabricated a reason to go to Iraq in the beginning. Would someone give these folks a good head thunk…Once you began stretching the meaning of the “is” no amount of re-stretching will ever give you back your credibility. Seems to me if you don’t trust your handpicked military commander to write a report that says what you want said…Then guys and gals, you got a real problem on your hands. Because other than the Americans who thing George W is the second coming, not many of the rest of us put much store in his or his minions opinion on much of anything…For some reason though, I expected nothing else.