Timing is Everything

How much trouble is the Bush gang in? Just look at today's Washington Post, with two front page pieces that impact Rice's trip: one on the trip itself, the other a story about CIA lies to the Italian government over one of their kidnappings for the US' subcontracted torture gulag.

Neither complimentary, both timed for maximum impact with the Europeans, who do read the Post. There's been a spate of pre-trip reports, most focused on Condi's efforts to spin away the torture scandal before she even left Washington. None of those, though, were real news. It'll be very interesting to see what stories appear later today and tomorrow once she's been in a few meetings and the Europeans have had a chance to get in some words of their own.