"We've turned the corner so many times in Iraq that we're just circling the block."

-- Bob Shrum, Democratic consultant, on MSNBC.com

I found that quote while reading this fascinating article by Chris Matthews on what he thinks will happen whe the special prosecutor in the Rove/Plame/Wilson/leak thingy makes his final decision. Matthews' take is that it's going to be big...very big.

And here's his final point, one I think should make us all think. He argues that, with the impending indictments (if there are any), Cheney's usefulness and communication with Bush will be far less. (He points out that it's already frayed; when Harriet Miers was named to the Supreme Court, White House press secretary Scott McClellan made a point of saying that the president had his chief of staff tell Cheney who the pick was going to be.) Because of this, Matthews says:

"[N]ow George W. Bush will be running this country completely on his own the next couple of months. It's going to be very interesting."