The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce. ~ Oliver Wendall Holmes Sr

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Feingold Campaigns For Retreat From Iraq — In Iraq — “However, American politicians have at least understood that when traveling to the war zone, the troops and the public expect them to stick to supportive statements and not engage in protests against our mission. At least, they used to understand that — but Wisconsin Senator and 2008 presidential hopeful Russ Feingold decided to make his visit to Iraq a soapbox to bolster his anti-war credentials.”

The Strata-Sphere (AJ Strata) Saddam And The Terrorists — “It appears the document drop of material found in Baghdad and Afghanistan is starting to have the expected affect. Stories on the numerous discussions and joint efforts between Saddam and terrorists are integrating into the American psyche and building the picture which can only be seen as a summation of a lot of smaller pictures.”

In The Bullpen (Chad Evans) Zarqawi Assumes Lower Profile — “Dexter Filkins at the New York Times writes Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has taken a lessor role in Iraq, and quite possibly his own terrorist group Al Qaida in Iraq. Not to be confused with reporting the news when it actually comes out, the Filkins doesn’t mention previous reports Zarqawi did step aside. But, hey, there’s some interesting information and good analysis by those quoted by Filkins that it’s worth bringing up again.”

Powerline (John Hinderaker) Abramoff Has Nothing on Delay — “What I still don’t understand is, what exactly is the Jack Abramoff “scandal”? Abramoff got caught trying to defraud investors in a cruise ship, but that had nothing to do with Congress. Yet prosecutors gave him a break in return for his agreement to testify against Congressmen. The question is, does he have anything to say?”

Ankle Biting Pundits (H-Bomb) The Impeachment Belt — “For all intents and purposes, “Impeach Bush” is the new “I’m moving to Canada”: a Moonbat impulse designed to demonstrate to the world how much they really, really, really want to get back into power, but which, in the end, will hurt Democrats more than Republicans, by a damn sight.”