Mr. Personality

Pictures of Kim Jong-Il are disappearing in Pyongyang. In one of the few remaining cult-of-personality states in the world, can this be anything other than a good sign?

--PAN YUE-HAN

UPDATE 11/18: It's been interesting to see the meltdown of the Democrats here in the US, who bet all their political capital on a losing horse. I have wondered if perhaps there aren't politicians in foreign parts who likewise bet wrong and are suffering the political consequences. I'll admit, I thought it would be folks like Chirac and Schroeder, and not Kim Jong-il. But maybe that's what's happening.