A. C. Bradley, I believe, says that Emilia in Othello is the most gratifying character in literature: because she blurts out the truth, after a long season of confusion and lies — aggressive lies. The audience is dying for someone to blurt out the truth: about Iago, the handkerchief, and all that. At last, someone does. Too late — certainly too late for Desdemona — but still …

To me, Victor Davis Hanson’s piece today about the Iraq War is tremendously gratifying. This war has been mythologized, twisted, used — lied about. And Victor comes along, at just the right moment, and blurts out the truth. He recalls the facts about the war in a measured, unswerving way.

I found myself saying, “Yes, yes. Thank you, Victor.” And I thought I’d say it publicly (i.e., here).