OK, admittedly, I have a slightly tweaked sense of humor, but I can't help chuckling about the latest video hit from Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Here's what cracks me up:

"The American people have taken a step in the right path to come out of their predicament ... they voted for a level of reason."

"I tell the lame duck (U.S. administration) do not rush to escape as did your defense minister ... stay on the battleground..."

Wait a minute - I thought we've taken the right step by withdrawing, and now you're saying you want us to stay. And this 'cause they "haven't had enough" of our blood yet. He's a peach, ain't he, folks?

OK, if we choose door #1, of course that means that Al Qaeda is going to back off and be "reasonable," too, right? 'Cause after all, the only reason they're attacking us at all is our intervention in Iraq - at least according to George McGovern, the anti-war, 49-state-loser that will be the architect of the Democrat withdrawal plan (which is amusing in itself). Oh, wait, no, apparently we're still going to be in trouble....

"I swear by God we shall not rest from jihad until we ... blow up the filthiest house known as the White House."

Hmm.....

Doesn't sound too "brotherly" to me - Al Masri said in the same tape that once the Dems cut and run (because "The (U.S.) enemy is now wobbly. Today they are loading their gear to flee"), Al Qaeda would treat them in a brotherly manner. Man, if that's "brotherly," I'd sure hate to be there for family picnics.

Oh, and add that to this gem from Falah Hassan Shanshal, one of al-Sadr's chums:

"The vote shows the Iraqi and American people are of one mind about withdrawing U.S. troops. ... We hope the Democrats don't forget their campaign promises.'"

Aw, come on, though - we're gonna be buddy-buddy once we leave Iraq, right? 'Cause other than this little tiff, Al Qaeda had nothing but respect for us. Not so much - we're "America, the country of slaves and narcotics" Hey, pal, not for nothing, but I don't know if you should be trashing your customers. Bad for business. After all, isn't Al Qaeda big in the Opium trade?

Wonder how the Left is going to react to being called Al Qaeda's "brothers." My criticisms of the Dems aside, I really don't think that's the kind of vote of confidence they want.

Al-Qaeda's bout of split-personality is also being displayed by the Dems, with Murtha claiming that he's going to revisit a quick departure from Iraq, McGovern being called in to orchestrate said departure, the Iraqi President stating that the Dems assured him that they know hasty withdrawal would be disastrous, and told him it's not going to happen. And now Nancy Pelosi is saying that Congress' ability to end the war is limited (of course, this week, she also termed it a "situation to be solved" rather than a war).

So, if you're a jubilant anti-war Leftie who voted for those you thought would leave Iraq semi-immediately, you've got to be feeling a little peeved. Did you get hosed? Dunno - the Left doesn't seem to be able to voice a coherent message (I feel your pain - the GOP seems to have the same problem these days).

Al-Masri said that Al-Qaeda in Iraq has "12,000 ready fighters," and 10,000 in the wings.

Let's see....news today has 10 killed in one city alone, and one leader dead. According to some estimates, as of late 2005, we'd killed between 45,000 to 50,000 insurgents in Iraq. So, if we need to kill 22,000 more....that ought to take us about a year. No problem.

Others rejoicing about the U.S. election include Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who termed the election results a victory for Iran, Socialists in the European Parliament, and Chavez, who of course commented in his own unique touchy-feely way.

So who really won on Tuesday?

Don't get me wrong - I don't want the Dems to fail in this, because let's face it, if they do, it spells disaster for us. But this does point out one thing - it's real easy to criticize when you're not the one in the mire.

So how does that victory taste now? Bet it's going down just a little bit rougher. It elicits a chuckle or two when I see the Dems stuck smack-dab in the middle of all of this. How now, Brown Cow?

And it's better to laugh than cry over the fact that the ones likely to suffer in this mess are our Heroes on the ground. That part isn't funny at all.