Maines runs to cover her ass.

And to no one's particular surprise, she uses motherhood and the flag to do it:

``While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost,'' she said. ``I love my country. I am a proud American.''

Way too little, way too late, and frankly, the addition of the obligatory reference to The Children just makes my lip curl. Besides, we've spent twelve years exhausting various alternatives. Where was Nat while all that was going on?

Maines' contrite statement is in contrast to her comments on Thursday, when she said: ``I feel the president is ignoring the opinion of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world. My comments were made in frustration, and one of the privileges of being an American is you are free to voice your own point of view.''

Quite. And free to pay the price for the things you say, as Miss Maines has suddenly discovered.

[From the AP via AOL news; sorry, no link.]