Francophobe jingoist apologizes

Walter Jones, the U.S. Congressman behind the move to rename "french fries" at Capitol Hill restaurants "freedom fries," has officially apologized. But what's really interesting is why he's had a change of heart:

Although [Jones] voted for the war, he has since become one of its most vociferous opponents on Capitol Hill, where the hallway outside his office is lined with photographs of the "faces of the fallen".

"If we were given misinformation intentionally by people in this administration, to commit the authority to send boys, and in some instances girls, to go into Iraq, that is wrong," he told the newspaper. "Congress must be told the truth."

Despite all the rhetoric about the vast gulf between Red and Blue America, the truth is that it doesn't take much to sway honest populists to a very different set of positions, especially if they feel like someone in a position of privilege is using his privileges to hornswoggle regular folks. This is why the recent documentary evidence that Bush intended to invade Iraq all along contains an element of severe political danger for the President.