President Bush’s surprise Thanksgiving trip to Baghdad was certainly a good thing to do. On the other hand, it seems pretty clear that the whole thing was the political equivalent of what happens in Hollywood when the cast and crew are reassembled to reshoot a scene that the director realizes he botched. In this case, Karl Rove’s “Mission Accomplished” footage from May, with its flyer-garb bravado, has now become an albatross around Bush’s neck. The Bush campaign needed new political-commercial fodder. New location; same cast. Roll cameras. Only Bush gets to charge all production costs to the American people.
Patrick Neilsen Hayden’s report, quoting Kevin Maroney quoting a former Air Force officer, provides another perspective on the quickie visit: “First, let me say these little photo opportunities do nothing in raising the morale level. The people who Bush dined with were most assuredly hand selected.” Read more.
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