White House: Iraq? Doesn't ring a bell. Sorry.

See that smoke? It's coming from President Bush's shoes as he skitters away from the mess in Iraq as quickly as he can.

Based on Trent Duffy's comments during Thursday's press gaggle, you wouldn't guess the United States has any interest at all in the process of forming an Iraqi constitution.

Q On the Iraqi constitution, I'm sure you saw that the Iraqi parliament suspended indefinitely a vote. Do you have any response to that?

MR. DUFFY: Well, the Iraqis continue to work very hard on their own constitution, and to meet the deadline that they themselves established and set into law. The United States is ready and willing and there to help and assist them meet their own deadlines, but the progress is encouraging. All sides are at the table; they're still talking, they're negotiating. And those are what you see in a democracy and a government that's working to develop a very important document. I think it says a lot about the weight that the Iraqis put into this document that they're taking such great care and effort to craft it, so that it is a durable document and so that it is an important document.

As President Bush said Tuesday, our own constitution took quite a bit of time and effort to construct, and it's been amended several times since. So we're encouraged by the progress. The U.S. is working to assist them, but they continue to work towards that.

And then, there's this.

Q Has the President talked to or reached out to any of the negotiators in the -- any of the parties in Iraq as the constitution negotiations have gone along?

MR. DUFFY: I don't have anything more to read out on the President's contacts. But let me see if I can get anything for you on that. I think, principally, it's been Ambassador Khalilzad.

And, this.

Q Back on Iraq, Trent, is there any sense in the administration that there -- that parliament's recess could actually give a little bit of breathing room to the negotiators and help the process somewhat? Is there -- is there an upside, in the administration's view?

MR. DUFFY: Well, I think I'm just going to leave it where I did, Jennifer. It's not the U.S. position to be the play-by-play announcer. We support what they're doing. They are working together in -- in a non-violent fashion to achieve a very important objective here, which is to write a constitution that can be durable; that represents the views of the majority; that respects the minority rights; that has women's rights; and has everything that, you know, that the international community wants, and that Iraqis want. Again, this is an Iraqi process.

And, that's it.

"A rock?" I don't... oh, "Iraq!" Yeah, I seem to remember something about them trying to write a constitution, or something. Hope it works out for 'em, God bless 'em. Not our problem, though.