Staying the course by tacking hard right

So on todays Op-ed page the New York Times published a frank editorial stating that it is clear that the military situation in Iraq is getting better and that pulling out American troops would lead to a destabilization just when the ship seemed to be righting itself. They note that the political situation is still in a shambles, but that attacks and deaths are both down over last year. Looking at a number of benchmarks they reported that the situation had definitely improved.

This is a big deal, for the Times to essentially back President Bush's position regarding Iraq and "staying the course." I think they're laying the groundword to support Hillary in the primary next spring.