More "Iraq" speeches! Yay!

The Washington Post's headline writers do not appear to have read all the way through this AP story about Bush's refusal to acknowledge the obvious in Iraq. They slugged it "President Lauds Iraqi Efforts Toward Unity."

Efforts toward unity. Nice. Devoid of meaning, but nice.

If you read the piece, however, you can almost see Nedra Pickler's tongue poking out at her cheek as she typed.

Bush did not mention the insurgent attacks, the car bombs or the mounting Iraqi deaths in a two-minute statement to reporters outside the White House after returning from a weekend at Camp David. Avoiding the word "war," he called the day "the third anniversary of the beginning of the liberation of Iraq."

The president only indirectly referred to the violence when he said he spent the morning reflecting on the sacrifices made by U.S. troops. Bush said he spoke by phone earlier in the day with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and had received a positive report.

The White House is trying to remind the disapproving public of Bush's vision for Iraq with a public relations blitz. The president plans to give a series of speeches on Iraq, beginning Monday in Cleveland.

Note to Karl: the disapproving public is acutely aware of Bush's vision for Iraq, and we don't like what we see.

68 pct of those interviewed gave a negative rating of Bush's current handling of events in Iraq, and 30 pct were positive.

The president's ratings slipped from a previous survey in January, in which 61 pct were negative and 36 pct positive.

Asked about the possibility of a civil war in Iraq in the next six months, 30 pct of those polled said that such a war was very or extremely likely, with another 20 pct saying it was likely.

You don't reverse a 68 percent disapproval rating with more delusional speeches and empty slogans. Rather than have Bush take the podium in Cleveland on Monday, somebody at the White House might want to stick a sock in his mouth.

Oh, and while Bush refuses even to say the word "war" anymore, don't forget that his (former) li'l buddy Ayad Allawi isn't afraid to say it at all.