NEWS CONFERENCE:
* Excellent first thoughts by Dan Froomkin.
* Bush's rosy view of Iraq slighty contradicted by, you know, our intelligence estimates.
* Analysis: "President Bush's Iraq strategy now boils down to this: He is trying to buy time for a surge that is living on borrowed time."
* Analysis: Bush's stubbornness and Congress's stagnation means that nothing will change anytime soon.
* The full report from Howard Kurtz, including wrapping up the media coverage. Good read.
* "President Bush is still trying to twist reality to claim that his failed effort is worth sticking with."
* Powerline thinks he did "an excellent job."
* And in case it slipped by you, Bush said the whole Libby thing is over, so we can stop talking about it now. More from Slate here.
WHAT BENCHMARKS?
* Analysis: list of the benchmarks, and how they are progressing. Slate refers to the report as "a sham."
* Report: "the government in Baghdad has made the least progress on the most important objectives."
* "The Bush administration's decision to set benchmarks for measuring the progress of the Iraq mission is now seen by some U.S. officials as a costly blunder that has only aided the White House's critics in Congress and its foes in Iraq."
OTHER NEWS:
* Joe Klein on Bush's July surprise.
* Critics say Bush is overstating the role of al Qaeda in Iraq.
* Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs brought up on new charges. (Courtesy
judithiscariot.)* Use of the morning-after pill rises, now that it is available over the counter.
* Teenage pregnancy and sexual activity is on the decline.
* Good read: examining the science of gaydar. (Courtesy
asimplelife.)* What Rap Cat tells us about the future of advertising.
* Recording industry irate over Prince making his new CD available cheaply.
* The burlesque revival turns to rock music.
This coffee is tasty, but it'd be better if it went through the digestive tract of a civet first.