Club med Baghdad.

My candidate for Optimist of the Year is Wathiq Hindo. He is an Iraqi entrepreneur who thinks Iraq "is the world's next great tourist attraction," writes Monthly alumnus Robert F. Worth in The New York Times. "He envisions package tours, four-star hotels and resorts"

Crazily enough, Hindo could be right in the long rim. Look at Vietnam. Even in the short run, Hindo makes an observation that intrigued me. You know why people get politicized? They lack entertainment."

Of course there are many reasons why people get politicized. But why not do something about the one Americans are uniquely qualified to do something about? Even making allowance for its most dreadful offerings, American television is on the whole entertaining. It also gives a glimpse of the good life enjoyed by the Western democracies. It might even lure Iraqis to stay tuned in for news that presents our side.

Hindo's optimism, it should be noted, is not unalloyed. "Like any good businessman," writes Worth, "Mr. Hindo is hedging his bets: he has founded a private security company and is training 1200 guards."