I am getting exponentially annoyed at headlines like this: Blix: No breakthroughs but new ‘positive attitude’ by Iraq

The inspections process is not a dimmer switch where, day-by-day, we turn up the light a little more. The United States wants an on/off light switch marked disarm/don’t disarm. All this talk about a “I’m beginning to see some positive attitude” (Blix) and “We are leaving with a sense of cautious optimism” (ElBaradei) is meaningless.

Slate’s “Today’s Papers” had it exactly right this morning:

While the Post's lead sees the inspectors' meeting with Iraqi officials as a bust—"U.N. INSPECTORS FAIL TO WIN KEY IRAQ CONCESSIONS"—some of the other papers disagree. According to USAT, "U.N. INSPECTORS DESCRIBE 'CHANGE OF HEART' BY IRAQIS." The Post feels more on target: While some of the papers play up the mushy messages from inspectors Blix and ElBaradei—ElBaradei referred to "hopefully the beginnings of a change of heart"—the WP nicely skips past the talking points and emphasizes what actually happened: Nothing. The Iraqis didn't deliver. They handed over some documents about old weapons programs, but Blix said the papers didn't seem to contain any new info. Nor did they agree on U-2 overflights; they say they're still thinking about it.