Benchmarks

The president is no longer talking about, "stay the course." Apparently someone got to him and whispered in his ear that "stay the course" isn't really working that well. And as we all know, its not about what actually is or what we actually do. It's about the words and catch phrases Rove comes up with after innumerable focus groups have vetted it, that counts.

So now we are, "benchmarking." Which they would have us believe is not time tables A.K.A. cut and run. The thing is this is not BENCHMARKING!!! Lets get it straight. And have the word go forth. From this place and time. Benchmarking is the act of measuring what others are doing in similar circumstance. If you were going to devise a scheme to go on a one week vacation to a place others have gone to before you, you might consider finding out how much others paid for the same experience. This is benchmarking. The act of comparing like results or outcomes using different means.

What these people are talking about and every person familiar with the practice knows as, Milestones. Milestones are moments in time when certain things happen that can be documented or viewed or measured. They have no durations they are the end or the beginning of an event not an event in and of themselves. For instance, and we have yet to reach this milestone, Iraqis gain some control of something and maintain it. That would be a milestone. It would also be a friggin miracle.

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