Obama, Sarkozy and Brown’s disclosure this morning of a secret “other” Iranian uranium-enrichment facility hidden under the ground (crafty!) will have one certain effect: an outpouring of Very Serious Centrism from the Washington Post’s stable of pundits. David Ignatius, as you can see, has already commenced the fappery for bombing and war. “It’s hard to see how this one will end short of military confrontation if the Iranians don’t start bargaining for real,” Ignatius writes, as though he knows what he’s talking about. He also compares the current situation to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which famously ended before people started bombing each other. [Washington Post]

YOU SCOOPED US, WASHINGTON POST. We thought the same thing today! When Barack Obama reversed his decision to release photographic evidence of authorized-from-the-top, brutal, illegal detainee abuse that would have compelled the DoJ to prosecute people for crimes (MUST NEVER HAPPEN), we thought about how AWESOME this will be politically, just like that time Bill Clinton didn’t care for a black rapper during a campaign and a few conservative voters mused, “Okay, well, as long as he hates the blacks too…” MORE »

• There are telltale signs hidden in the details of the Cocktober Surprise, sitting there, waiting to be discovered - clues that God himself orchestrated the “Do I make you horny?” IM convos. [Unclaimed Territory]

• Rove aide and sports fan Susan Ralston resigns over Abramoff scandal. [TPMMuckraker]
• North Korea’s not building nukes to bargain with, they’re building them to blow shit up with. [Captain's Quarters]
• Obama is exactly twice the dinner companion that John Kerry is — but should eat more, he’s still kinda a skinny kid. [The Swamp]
• David Ignatius gets a big fat late pass. [Sadly, No!]
• Bush to be impeached, basically any minute now. [After Downing Street]
• David Brooks thinks Mark Foley is a folk hero to be “worshiped at consciousness-raising drum circles.” [Hit & Run]
• It’s a 3-day weekend guys, better start puffing down so you can remember it. [ScrappleFace]

Hey, it’s just place-saving text ’till they figure out if today’s column calling for a slow, deliberate, eventual, measured non-withdrawal from Iraq was written by Broder or Ignatius. MORE »

Wednesday Morning Quiz: Which of the following stories is less likely to come to fruition:
If you said lasers, you’re right. It’s a trick question: McCain already sold his soul! MORE »

Above, the precise number of retired generals and Post columnists required to call for Donald Rumsfeld’s retirement before David Broder will explicitly agree.

It’s a Rumsfeldapalooza on the Post op-ed page today! David Broder, Dean of the Washington Press Corps, has Rummy in his sights and — with the help of a few solid weeks of established conservative voices already expressing the sentiment for him, and hot on the heels of similarly RADICAL op-ed furniture David Ignatius — takes him down!

The situation cries out for serious congressional oversight and examination; hearings are needed as soon as Congress returns. These charges have to be answered convincingly — or Rumsfeld has to go.

Yes! Hearings! Accountability! Charge-answering! Over-sight! Over-sight! Over-sight!

But the combined moderate reasonable center-lib power of the David’s is not enough for Jack Hiatt, the uber-moderate:

In our view Mr. Rumsfeld’s failures should have led to his departure long ago. But he should not be driven out by a revolt of generals, retired or not.

Yeah! Rumsfeld should’ve gone already! But not because of Generals! So if he’s fired, which he should be, it shouldn’t be because those guys criticized him, but because we criticized him for sorta the same stuff! But it should’ve happened before! Yeah!

Did Joe Biden win the nomination yet, or what?

Listen to the Brass [WP]
The General’s Revolr [WP]
Earlier: Also, Ignatius, Let Us Tell You the Story of Colin Powell

Above, the precise number of retired generals required to call for your resignation before David Ignatius will take a position on you. MORE »

You guys got your famous-for-DC minor media figure stalking booklets handy? Good. Let’s begin. MORE »

A brief history of the Reasonable Liberal: MORE »