It really was all part of a gigantic PR blitz.

Cue the VP

Larry King interview a short while ago:

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I believe so. I think we're seeing already — from others; don't take it from me, look at the piece that appeared yesterday in The New York Times — not exactly a friendly publication — but a piece by Mr. O'Hanlon and Mr. Pollack on the situation in Iraq. They're just back from visiting over there. They both have been strong critics of the war, both worked in the prior administration; but now saying that they think there's a possibility, indeed, that we could be successful. So we'll know a lot more in September, when General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker come back and report to the Congress and the President on the situation in Iraq and whether or not we're making progress. Obviously we want to get it done as quickly as possible. http://tinyurl.com/2tlkq4

-- EJ

I've been in big-time show biz advertising for almost 30 years, and I'm in awe.

Just imagine if these guys were willing to use their talents for good. But I guess, like Communism and virginity, there's no money in it.

Scott Hennen on what sounds like a crystal meth-fueled gay sex binge with President Butch and 10 of America's Most Distinguished Journimalists (WARNING - empty mouth of food and liquids before reading):

"His descriptions of the enemy and their brutal, cold-blooded-killer tactics were enough to make a graying group of radio talk how hosts want to enlist and serve this country in uniform."

More at Dan Froomkin's WaPo.com column, always good, rarely better than today:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100879.html

I owe Bucky one dollar.

-- L.W.M.

But currency is controlled, printed and distributed by the big, bad nanny-state government, so I'm sure Bucky has no use for it. There, I just saved you a dollar.

My question is where has the 'watchdog press' been on this issue; it is certainly part of the cost of our wars.

-- bucky1

They have been observing the laws of the "free market" you prize so much by reporting and commenting as their corporate owners and advertisers want them to.

I asked if your clone supported private ownership of the press

-- bucky1

I am nobody's clone, but it's amusing to be called one by a John Birch Society clown. You can shove Ben Franklin's printing press, along with your other straw-man "challenges," up your deceitful, delusional, self-righteous ass.

Sometimes you people don't know when to keep your mouths shut, like the idiot "Kitt" that thought "news" was an acronym for north, east, west, and south.

-- shooter242

We, sometimes. You, never.

The "idiot" quickly acknowledged his error and apologized. You, being a sociopath, are incapable of even considering such a thing. If there is a gene for human decency, you were born without it.

Tell us more about Armstrong Williams' show on Air America, won't you, please?

Honestly, I've had things with more brains and character than you removed from my colon.

A 'straw man challenge' says a coward who will not state that he supports Ben Franklin's right to own his press; a simple question that most Americans would answer, "Of course, so what?"

-- bully1

I've corrected the spelling of your screen name to reflect your true nature.

...the next President of the United States will be Alberto Gonzales.

You will not even support Benjerman Franklin's right to own his press; and the man is dead and can not hurt you! He would if still alive of course; cowardly collectivists like you would have been a novelty back then.

-- bucky1

You are clearly typing these things from the confines of a mental institution. Or should be.

Every troll in the entire blogosphere, no matter how deranged, illiterate or abusive, is better than Anonymous.

Don't bother trying to top that.

do you know how much a quality rack costs

-- Paul in KY

Ask Jeri Thompson. I'm sure Fred still has the receipt from the cosmetic surgeon somewhere.

If Gonzales had the brains God gave a silverfish, he'd combine the two and make a fortune marketing "Torture Me Elmo" dolls.

Then again, if Gonzales had the brains God gave a silverfish he wouldn't be Bush's AG.

More on Glenn's knife job regarding the "war lovers" and purveyors of "adolescent war pornography" later.

-- shooter242

We can hardly wait. It's so entertaining to watch you spin and sweat and piss yourself in your futile efforts to defend the indefensible. I, for one, look forward to enjoying the spectacle when your head finally explodes in a shower of gore and confetti.

So are you opposed to war categorically, or just against this war?

-- shooter242

So are you a boil on the ass of humanity, or just a congenital imbecile?

NSA wiretaps suggest very strong evidence that there are Muslims hiding in your scrotum right this very minute. For your own security, you should chop off your testicles at once.

There, I'll bet you feel better already.

Piss Christ pissed off Xians, but no one was bombed or murdered.

Benito Giuliani whipped up a frenzy to cut off funding for the Brooklyn Museum. When you have that kind of civic power, you don't have to threaten bombs or murder.

In the end it's the same shit, different Messiah.

Your unusual coloration seems less related to any precious metal than to your habit of pissing yourself repeatedly with fear.

You hate Muslims. We get it. The fact that you seem utterly unconcerned with homegrown religious fanaticism and terrorism and Christianist-inspired abrogration of our Constitutional rights marks you not as a champion of freedom and democracy but a plain old-fashioned bigot. Your inability to acknowledge the Bush Administration's intimate ties to the Islamic extremists among our allies, like Saudi Arabia, mark you as an idiot.