Are you sure it's wise to fix a war that's already gone $200 billion?

Yes, we're almost at the $200 billion mark. My, how money flies. Check out the ticker in the left-hand margin.

When a car reaches 200,000 miles, its owner faces a decision. The writing is on the wall. The mechanic talks turkey to her. He points out what needs fixing before her car will pass inspection. The prospects, even with repairs, are not good. Her car, after all, has lasted longer than anyone expected, and its days are now numbered.

The news is a blow to her. She's been emotionally attached to her car for a while. She's proud to have driven it so far. She remembers the time she drove it across the country to visit friends in California. People used to compliment her on it. She clings to high hopes for her car despite reality's cold logic, but a momentous odometer reading brings with it an undeniable truth. The dream is over. She and her car must part ways.

Earlier this week I waxed imaginative. I forecasted, tongue firmly in cheek, that Democrats had a "media campaign for the ages" in store to publicize the looming $200 billion cost for the Iraq War and resurrect their party from the abyss. I daydreamed that Democrats, the mechanics who should be giving this war an inspection, would seize the day to talk turkey to a President emotionally attached to a war that used to draw him compliments but now faces grim prospects.

Understand: My post was an exercise in sarcasm. Nobody with half a brain these days actually believes Democrats -- in practice, Republicans Lite -- are planning any kind of meaningful offensive against this war. In fact, any day now, the neoconjobs can expect $50 billion more for their wet dreams of imperialism.

I know the linked article suggests opposition, even within Republican Party ranks, to the extra bread, but we all know how that story goes these days: in Bush's favor.

And the question remains: How many more billions of dollars will this war go before it breaks down for good on the side of a lonely desert road?