According to Secretary Chertoff, we’re entering a new period of lurking terrorist danger this summer. In other words, a period of danger similar to every other summer since 2001 and like most periods of low popularity for the president and before elections as well. But perhaps it is a period of increased danger. It really well might be. We’ve known for some time a mix of sagging tide of the war in Afghanistan and the mounting impotence of the Musharraf regime in Pakistan has allowed jihadist groups a relative safe-haven in the lawless Pakistani borderlands like they have not had since prior to 9/11. And if they can train they can act.

It all brings into a rather fierce relief the question of what the hell we are doing in Iraq, a conflict that has made the war we are fighting against jihadism vastly more intractable and dangerous. We can’t leave Iraq apparently because al Qaeda will be emboldened and will do much better at fundraising — a revealing perspective on the part of the White House. But al Qaeda is vastly emboldened in as much as they are actively regrouping in the Afghan-Pakistani border, where all the trouble came from the in the first place. And groups all over the Middle East, who have little if any actual connection to al Qaeda, are adopting the name al Qaeda in vicarious support or sympathy or, perhaps mostly and most damningly, because we’ve managed to make it a strong brand.

And here we are, again, with the president introducing yet another new new direction in Iraq. Yes, the stakes of ‘defeat’ in Iraq are very high. And that’s why so many people are so upset with this president because the whole thing is quite obviously a disaster and we are going to pay a very big price for it on many levels. And it’s his fault. But let’s not pretend that these are grave hypotheticals off in the future. They’re here. It’s a disaster. And we have to deal with it. Not pretend.

People ask what we’re doing in Iraq. And you can answer in a hundred ways and in a thousand shades of literalism to metaphor. But at some level we’re in Iraq because President Bush wanted a parade. It’s not hard to imagine how he must have imagined it. A withdrawal of most American troops from a staunchly allied pro-American Iraq. Waving flags. Heartfelt thanks and vindication for the president who had the guts and character to see it through.

And that’s why we stay. Because somehow if he just keeps at it someday he might get his parade. Or rather if he just keeps us there forever he doesn’t have to really deal wtih what a disaster he’s created and fundamentally what a failure he is.

He wants the parade.

You say you got paid to have sex with Sen. Vitter (R-LA)? Well, lady, get in line … (just out from the Times-Picayune)

U.S. Senator David Vitter visited a Canal Street brothel several times beginning in the mid-1990s, paying $300 per hour for services at the bordello after he met the madam at a fishing rodeo that included prostitutes and other politicians, according to Jeanette Maier, the “Canal Street Madam” whose operation was shut down by a federal investigators in 2001.

Late Update: Ahhh yet more fun. David Corn digs up a 1998 column Vitter wrote insisting that Clinton’s moral depravity was an impeachable offense.

Pretty Friggin’ Late Update: Quite apart from the prostitution, several TPM Readers note, even more disturbing is the question: what’s a fish rodeo?

Yep, Even Later Update: “He seemed to be one of the nicest men and most honorable men I’ve ever met.” Character reference from Jeanette Maier, former New Orleans brothel owner, on her alleged former client, Sen. Vitter.

Great Spencer Ackerman line from this afternoon …

Bush’s address to a Cleveland business organization was heavy on his old standards. Failure in Iraq will have “serious consequences for the security of your children.” (And no, he didn’t mean that as an apology.)

Richard Carmona, the very angry former Surgeon General, testified before a House committee yesterday. Marvel at the Bush administration’s ability to thoroughly politicize a largely symbolic position.

We’re currently working on putting together a Rudy Docket, a list of all Giuliani appointees who have managed to be indicted for major crimes, caught carousing in one form or another, accepting pay-offs or whatever. But I was thinking it would be interesting to have like a Rudy futures market — trying to figure out in advance who was likely to be engulfed in a major scandal or caught committing serious felonies so Rudy could hurry up and appoint them to something while the getting was so good.

In any case, that aside, so far we’ve got Kerik (wenching, bribery, assorted corruption), Ravenel (coke dealing), Ravenel Sr. (history of racist comments), Vitter (patron of prostitutes) and …? Who else can you think of? Let us know.

Karl Rove’s former aide Sara Taylor is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning about the U.S. attorney firings. According to her opening statement, she won’t say much, but she might say something. We’ll be covering it over at TPMmuckraker.

So what is a ‘fishing rodeo’? If you were reading the latest on Sen. Vitter (R) last night here on TPM, you’ll know that Vitter met one of his several alleged Madam’s at one a few years back down in Louisiana.

Now, I’m actually a pretty experienced angler. But I’d never heard the phrase before. And presumably it doesn’t refer to actually lassoing the fish, which would be a serious challenge. One TPM Reader told me it’s basically a fishing event where they have a bunch of starved fish who will basically bite at anything. And so everyone’s guaranteed a big catch. And given what we know now, you can see how that sort of arrangement would probably be a pretty familiar one for Vitter.

But more readers say it’s just the regional name for a fishing tournament — that is, in Louisiana and other parts of the South. Have you been to a fishing rodeo? What was it? And did you see David Vitter there?

Late Update: Okay, the consensus seems pretty clear on this. A ‘Fishing Rodeo’ is not the fishing version of a Dick Cheney-style staged hunt. It’s the name for a fishing tournemant — saltwater or fresh water — in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Hmmm. David Corn finds a senate phone number in the DC Madam’s phone list. And it’s pre-Vitter.

For those of you following l’affaire Vitter, we thought we’d pull together all of the good senator’s best family values moments in one quick video. It’s today’s episode of TPMtv.

As a number of you have pointed out, our TPM RSS feed seems to be a temporary casualty of our server switchover. We’re on the case. And it will be returning shortly.