Surging further into a state of "AWESOME"!

Yep, things just couldn't be getting any better -- say, Fareed Zakaria, are you sure this sucker is over?

A car bomb killed 33 people in northern Iraq on Sunday, security officials said, hours before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Baghdad to assess recent security gains and discuss troop levels.

Oh, and HUZZAH -- it's a twofer:

A suicide car bomber targeted U.S.-allied fighters north of Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least eight civilians and wounding 20, Iraqi security officials said.

Police and members of an anti-al-Qaida group opened fire as the attacker sped toward a joint checkpoint. But the bomber managed to detonate his explosives near some stores about 20 yards away.

The attack occurred near Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, according to a provincial police officer.

If I follow this right, that's two massive bombings in the same region today.

Is that progress then?