Pizzey On McCain

(AP)

That prompted a pretty jarring "Reporter's Notebook" from CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey in Baghdad, who's been on a roll lately. He writes that "perhaps there ought to at least be a rule that says no one should be allowed to seek [the job of president] unless they demonstrate a grasp of reality greater than the reach of their own ambitions." Then comes the not-so-subtle sarcasm:

By an unofficial count, there have been seven major explosions in Baghdad so far today, at least some of them car bombs.

There was, however, some good news, at least in the context of Iraq. The U.S. military reported that only one of two truck bombs used in attacks on Iraqi and American forces in Falluja contained chlorine. And things could improve. It is only one p.m. local time as this is being written.

"For Senator McCain to claim there are places here where all is well is to woefully minimize the dangers faced by the troops he otherwise so admirably supports…Any time Senator McCain wants to walk the streets of Baghdad, unarmed and without a serious security detail, we'd be glad to lend him a camera so he can record his experience."