STILL MORE "BAD" NEWS

CNN's breaking news banner says Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri (the King of Clubs in the infamous deck of cards) has been captured. If it is possible to link to the banner, I don't know how to do it, but CNN's home page is here.

My money says that before the end of the day, someone will question the timing of the capture. The only question in my mind is how closely associated with the Kerry campaign that someone will be.

This is bad news for Kerry in at least three ways:

It's yet another reminder (as if we needed one after the Russian Schoolhouse massacre) that we're in a war.

It's an indication of progress in that war.

Along with the Clinton bypass surgery and the story from Russia, it will suck still more oxygen out of the press coverage that Kerry desparately needs.

It's a shame, really, that Kerry needs bad news from Iraq and the economy in order to succeed.

But he does. And, for the moment, Kerry is (thankfully) doing very poorly.

Update: CNN is now saying that there is "confusion" about the story, that the Iraqis are denying they have al-Duri and that the Pentagon is "expressing doubt."