Newsflash: Bus is in Iraq...

...or apparently was, thanks to one of his famous grammatical slips, on Monday. How many times are we going to hear minor variations on "If I didn't believe we could succeed, I wouldn't be there." Someone tell Crawford's absentee idiot that all of us know the U. S. Armed Forces can do the job provided they have a winning strategy, political backup and the troops and equipment needed. At this point in the Iraq war, they have neither. And, Mr. President, you, who evaded service in a Guard unit you joined to evade service in Vietnam, have no right to put yourself on the same plane with our men and women in uniform. You desecrated yours and it turns my stomach every time you attempt to render your half-assed imitation of a salute.

Today it's fun to watch the White House in damage control mode. Bush's latest desperate attempt to save his presidency resulted in him running his mouth a little too freely, stating indirectly that U. S. troops will be in Iraq in 2009: It will be decided by future Presidents and future Iraqi governments." Today Rummy "clarified" the President's statements, the troops in 2009 will be trainers. Mission accomplished again, George? In its last throes, Dick? Not brain-dead, Bill? The administration and the Congress have lost any shred of competence they may once have had, the polls show it and the desperate maneuvers of the White House prove beyond a doubt, the Republicans have failed at leading this country.

Another prime example: Operation Swarmer. This high-priced photo op had no purpose whatsoever other than to give the NASCAR and CNN crowd some pretty pictures of helicopters loaded with Iraqi troops. Billed as the largest air operation since Schlock and Awwww, Swarmer turned out to be nothing other than a training exercise for sluggish-looking Iraqi security forces and a chance to show the military in action here at home. Bush, in desperation, has always turned to the military and to terrorism to bolster his ratings among the Department of Homeland Paranoia fans. This time I doubt it gains him two percent.

It's also fun to watch them split over immigration. Bush wants cheap labor sent home when we're done with them. Frist just wants to keep them out because everyone knows it's illegal immigrants that are the cause of America's drug problems. Just like he refuses to clean up Congress in favor of slapping the suppliers of political payola around, he blames an American social ill on those who serve it. Bush just wants cheap maid service at hotels and cheap groundskeepers for that high-end retirement community where he touts his prescription drug fiasco. Frist wants to bypass Senate committees to get his bill to the floor. Harry Reid has promised to filibuster the bill if Frist does so. So this time, Dems, let's not leave the hero out on his own as you did Feingold and his censure motion. Get behind him when the time comes - you're filibuster-proof if you stick together - and get out in front of the issue now by explaining why Frist's immigration bill is just as bad an idea as letting him diagnose your brain condition after watching ten minutes of carefully selected video.