Now that Donkey Dish has whet your appetite for political punditry, check out other servings around the Net, with various bloggers and pundits taking on the turmoil in China, our devolving political culture, the Iraq hearings and more …

• In light of yesterday’s Iraq hearings in D.C. starring Gen. David Petraeus, An Average American Patriot is left wondering how such sick, opened-faced lying can spin the dire truth of failure to look and sound like success.

• On a similar note, The Relentless Liberal, Jerome Grossman, ponders why John McCain remains competitive in spite of overwhelming negatives.

• The open-endedness and unconditional nature of our commitment to the Middle East is also the subject of an interesting piece by Slate’s Fred Kaplan.

• Will the “real” al Qaeda please stand up? The Daily Standard examines the tumultuous and increasingly overlooked problem of Afghanistan.

• In a time when extreme religious sects exploit children to satisfy desires, and the Chinese Government tries to wring the inner Dalai Lama out of his monks, BlueBloggin’s bosskitty examines political deprogramming.

• On the campaign front, Chris Cillizza of The Fix reports (again) on Nancy Pelosi arguing that a Democratic “Dream Ticket” won’t come to pass.

• Excuse #1,246: Already complaining that she’s being outspent (who’s fault is that), Hillary Clinton is ripping the media’s double standard.