Andrew Sullivan isn't taking Karl Rove's side:

You expect that kind of moronic extremism from a Michelle Malkin, but from the most influential figure in an administration leading a country in wartime? Ok, ok, I'm not surprised. Rove is a brutal operator. But to my mind, the hysterical attacks on Durbin and now this outburst (and the White House's subsequent endorsement of it) are an indication of some level of panic.

Here's an interview Vice President Cheney gave with Wolf Blitzer: Story here, but the video that CNN provides for free is easy to watch.

It's hard to find any panic. Cheney calmly spells out that the Iraqi constitutional process is on track and that more national elections are set for later this year. In addition, 160,000 Iraqi troops have been trained and are taking over much of the country's security.

And let's not forget about the forthcoming Saddam Hussein trial. It's been a while since the American public was reminded about the acid baths, torture, children's prisons, mass graves, Saddam's Halabja WMD attack against Iraq citizens, and on and on. Nothing like the spelling out of crimes against humanity to focus people's attention.

Six months from now, Saddam will likely have been convicted, an Iraqi constitution will be in place and more national elections there will be on the way. Iraqi troops will be killing or capturing more terrorists than they are today. So the question isn't about who is panicking now. The question is: who will be panicking in six months.

By all markers, the right people will be panicking.