In Sept. 2003, President Bush promised that he would help Iraqis “restore basic services, such as electricity and water, and to build new schools, roads, and medical clinics. This effort is essential to the stability of those nations, and therefore, to our own security.”

But three years later, electricity levels in Baghdad are at an all-time low. Residents of Baghdad are receiving just 2.4 hours of electricity this month, compared to an average of 16-24 hours of electricity before the U.S. invasion. The lowest level prior to this month was 3.9 hours/day.

According to our chart — using data compiled by The Brookings Institution — electricity levels have been steadily going down in the past two years (data for parts of 2003-2004 were unavailable) and are now at their lowest point since the U.S. invasion:

Doesn’t look like “so many lights [are] shining brightly” right now.

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“These past six years were more than just the most shameful, corrupt and incompetent period in the history of the American legislative branch. These were the years when the U.S. parliament became a historical punch line, a political obscenity on par with the court of Nero or Caligula — a stable of thieves and perverts who committed crimes rolling out of bed in the morning and did their very best to turn the mighty American empire into a debt-laden, despotic backwater, a Burkina Faso with cable.” Speaker Dennis Hastert tops their list of the ten worst congressmen.

Former Secretary of State James Baker, one of the most ardent Bush family loyalists, is heading up a commission to review our policy in Iraq. According to the BBC, Baker was “visibly upset” during a recent visit to Iraq, calling the country “a helluva mess.” Watch the BBC report:

The media has reported that Baker’s panel has “ruled out the prospect for victory” and will recommend a “change in course,” possibly including “withdrawing American troops in phases, and bringing neighboring Iran and Syria into a joint effort to stop the fighting.” Both options were proposed over a year ago by progressives in Strategic Redeployment.

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Rep. Terry Everett (R-AL), asked if he knows the difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims: “Mr. Everett responded with a low chuckle. He thought for a moment: ‘One’s in one location, another’s in another location. No, to be honest with you, I don’t know. I thought it was differences in their religion, different families or something.’” Everett is the vice chair of the House Intelligence Committee.

UPDATE: CQ’s Jeff Stein has more in the New York Times.

Today, the Center for American Progress is hosting a conference called “Securing the Common Good.” Featuring President Bill Clinton as the keynote speaker, the conference is an effort to forcefully articulate an alternative to “compassionate conservatism,” a progressive philosophy of governing. (Read more about the conference in this AP article.)

John Podesta, CAP’s president, delivered the opening remarks. First, he outlined the failures of the right’s governing philosophy:

They have put forward a philosophy, focused on individualism, in which people theoretically have more choices and assume more risk in nearly every part of their lives. In theory, the result of this approach is that people will save more, own more, rely less on the government and become greater stakeholders in the future of our country…

This is the theory.

But let’s look at the results:

– Over 46 million of our fellow citizens do not have health insurance;

– Poverty rates are climbing and personal savings rates are plummeting;

– The richest 1 percent of households already owns more wealth than the bottom 90 percent combined;

– Oil companies are taking in record profits while global warming advances at a record pace; and

– College tuition rates continue to skyrocket while wages stagnate.

Cutting through the rhetoric, the facts show that in this “ownership society,” most Americans have been left to fend for themselves: they are owners of more burdens and fewer opportunities.

Then, he articulated the progressive alternative: Read more