General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker probably did better on Monday than anyone—Republican or Democrats—expected. Whether or not they are accurate remains to be seen.

Damian Cave and Allissa Rubin in the New York Times  (9/11/07) call Crocker’s testimony into question, based in part on a briefing he gave to reporters some weeks ago in Baghdad.  News Analysis: Envoys Upbeat Tone Glosses Over Baghdads Turmoil  nytimes.com

Juan Cole (at the top of today’s post 9/11) thinks their testimony has created a fait accompli and the Dems have to hope they [Petraeus and Crocker] will accomplish what they say is possible so that a Democratic president doesn’t take the fall for Bush. Cole’s argument is smart and worth a look: http://www.juancole.com/

E.J. Dionne ferrets out another possible trajectory in Rep. Ike Skelton’s opening comments, i.e., let’s hear from some others at the Pentagon worried about over-all readiness: Democrats’ Last, Best Hope (Washington Post, 9/11).  Washingtonpost.com

Sorry my machine is not letting me copy links (advice anyone?).

UPDATE: Thomas Ricks (author of Fiasco) has a running commentary on today’s (9/11) testimony in the Senate. If you can’t watch the whole thing: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/iraq-debate/