Save Our--Repeat, Our--Ship

Asked whether he was quitting the Bush Administration because it would be good for his political future, Rob Portman, the outgoing budget director, replied this week: “It would be good for my mental health.”

At least 20 senior officials have bailed out in the past six months, but any gloating about rats and sinking ships should be tempered by awareness that it’s our ship of state, and we’re all on it.

The abysmal approval ratings of both Bush and Congress reflect public awareness that nobody is winning this war of attrition over Iraq and that sniping at those who don’t share our exact political positions about ending it is like firing at gladiators in the arena from the safety of the cheap seats.

Keep the pressure on by all means not to let Congress and the ’08 candidates forget, to belabor the maritime metaphor, that whoever gets into the wheelhouse is going to have to right the ship and steer us all through a turbulent future. But don’t encourage them to get off course by bashing one another to impress us.

End of S.O.S.