The bad news is that there are persistent leaks to the effect that these Shermanesque statements are to be taken with the same grain of salt as Mr. Bush's declared determination pre-election to keep Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon for the duration of his term.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Iraq Surrender Group

Clearly, there is a wide spread in these GAO numbers as the determination is dependent upon how a pre-existing condition is defined something that varies from insurance company to insurance company and state to state.

FORBES: Mitt Romney's Plan For Pre-Existing Medical Conditions-Good For The Rich, Useless for Middle Class

As the envoy of a defeated power at the Congress of Vienna, he played a weak hand with determination and skill, securing France within its pre-revolutionary borders and achieving a part at least of his vision for Europe.

ECONOMIST: Talleyrand