When it comes to the threat of terrorism, it seems that if the government isn't trying to scare us to death, the press is. The exploitation of fear continues to be our leaders' and our media's ace in the hole -- for votes, for ratings, for curtailing our freedoms.

Libby Commutation Scorecard: Prison time: none. Fine: paid. Probation: in doubt. Hey, Tony Snow, is that a wrist slap we hear coming from the Oval Office?

This week brought us a round of New Math, Bush administration style: 43 + 2 = 0 4 28301-016 (President 43, plus the most powerful No. 2 in history, equals 0 jail time for Scooter Libby, Prisoner 28301-016). Other numbers of note: the less-than-72 hours it took Libby to pay his $250,000 fine. It goes without saying that Bush's imperial chutzpah struck a nerve with our bloggers. Don't miss the Libby commutation takes of Bob Cesca, Jane Smiley, Matt Cooper, Lanny Davis, Alan Dershowitz, Hilary Rosen, Jeralyn Merritt, Craig Crawford, Swopa, Ari Melber, Bob Geiger, Tim Dickinson, Taylor Marsh, Thomas de Zengotita, Paul Abrams, Byron Williams, Jeff Feldman, Rachel Sklar, and Marty Kaplan. Bush turned 61 this week, but he was the one handing out the big gift.

All the hand-wringing and expressions of deep concern in the world will not stop this war. So Republican war critics need to match their rhetoric with action. Read More Democrats Can't Wait Around for GOP Defectors to End the War No matter how many Republicans abandon the president on Iraq, it is Democrats who must seize this moment and take the lead in bringing our troops home. Read More Why Bush's Balanced Assessment of Iraq is Utterly Unbalanced Having the White House describe Iraq as "a mixed bag" is like a doctor telling you that while your child has shiny hair he also has a brain tumor -- and you coming away thinking the doctor's report is "a mixed bag." That's insane. Read More

While Republican defectors from Bush's war policy need to show they're serious with their votes, Democrats need to show they're serious by giving the Senate a bill to vote on that would actually end the war.

Having the White House describe Iraq as "a mixed bag" is like a doctor telling you that while your child has shiny hair he also has a brain tumor -- and you coming away thinking the doctor's report is "a mixed bag." That's insane.

We learned this week that, even though White House counsel Fred Fielding had advised him that the Libby jury had reached a reasonable verdict, the president decided to commute Libby's sentence because if he didn't "it would have caused a fracture with the vice president." So Scooter got off because George Bush was afraid to piss off Dick Cheney. Is the same dynamic driving the president on Iraq? Are the efforts of administration pragmatists like Robert Gates and Condi Rice to shift the White House on the war being thwarted by 43's reluctance to face the wrath of his venomous veep? There's a scary thought: Americans continue to die in Iraq not because Bush is worried withdrawal would embolden al-Qaeda over there but because it would infuriate al-Cheney here at home.

John McCain's cratering campaign is an object lesson in how to kill a candidacy in three simple steps: 1) locate the biggest foreign policy disaster in U.S. history 2) embrace it 3) implode.

Bill Kristol has written the single most deceptive piece of the entire war: "Why Bush Will Be A Winner." I had a preview of this deluded triumphalist drivel a couple of days earlier on the Amtrak train from New York to Washington.

Now that the latest Democratic effort to force an up or down vote on troop withdrawal has failed, it's more important than ever that we keep the pressure on those who are standing in the way of bringing our troops home. So, starting today at 2 pm EDT, HuffPost will host a live chat with MoveOn.org's Tom Matzzie, who is currently spearheading a multi-state, multi-media, multi-million dollar campaign focused on turning up the heat on Republicans who are obstructing an end to the war. To take part, please send your Iraq questions, along with your name and town, to live@huffingtonpost.com between now and the start of the chat. Then be sure to come to this space today at 2 o'clock Eastern for this timely and vital conversation.

There are such things as facts. There is such a thing as reality. And refusing to see those facts and report that reality isn't a sign of objectivity, it's a sign of journalistic muddled thinking.

After Harry Reid's Senate sleepover failed to win enough Republican converts to force a vote on troop withdrawal legislation, Democrats announced they were putting off any votes on Iraq amendments until September -- forcing war-supporting Republicans to return to their home states to face the wrath of their constituents. While this may satisfy as strategy, the one-night stand leaves one feeling a little like Peggy Lee: "Is That All There Is?" As for the Grand Obstructionist Party, both John McCain and Trent Lott called Reid's maneuvering "tragic." No, what's tragic is the number of American soldiers who will die as Republicans continue to drag their feet on bringing our troops home.

Gates' emotional tribute isn't going to end this war, but it was remarkable to finally see a high-level administration official movingly acknowledge the real costs of this war.

Traditionally, candidates are judged by what they say during a debate -- did they score by delivering a memorable zinger or tank by making a memorable gaffe? But what about all the nonverbal parts of their presentation -- body language, gestures, facial expressions, vocal timbre -- that are equally (and sometimes even more) important in determining who connects with voters, and who doesn't? For tonight's CNN/YouTube debate, HuffPost has decided to look at those vital aspects, and will have two experts in nonverbal communication -- Howard Fine, renowned coach to many Hollywood actors, and John Neffinger, a political consultant and OffTheBus contributor -- livebloging the debate for us starting at 6:45 pm ET, 15 minutes before the debate begins. So be sure to check out this space at 6:45 tonight to get Howard and John's real time reactions to what the candidates are communicating beyond their words. Update: Due to a technical snafu, the liveblog will start when the debate does, at 7 pm ET (or shortly thereafter)

So Bill Kristol's deluded triumphalist drivel about the ultimate success of George Bush's presidency lives on -- thanks to George Bush and the New York Post.

Bush is so gung-ho about listening to Gen. Petraeus not because he is an expert but because he is an expert who agrees with Bush.

The lowlight of the week was the willfully-deceptive speech the president delivered on Tuesday, in which he sought to justify our ongoing involvement in Iraq by claiming, for what seemed like the 10,000th time, that if we weren't in Iraq, those we are fighting there would be attacking us "on the streets of our own cities." It's an argument Robert Grenier, former head of the CIA's counterterrorism center, labeled "completely disingenuous" and "fundamentally misleading." During the 28-minute speech, the president mentioned al-Qaeda 95 times, but conveniently skipped over the fact that the murderous organization is back to its pre-9/11 strength -- and ensconced in Pakistan -- precisely because he traded an all-out effort to get bin Laden for deposing Saddam Hussein and a disastrous occupation to be named later.

For months now, I've been trying to blow some of the pixie dust off Petraeus so that, come September, his vaunted report will be seen for what it inevitably will be: one more stall tactic designed to deny reality and delay the inevitable.