Iraq War: Blogging 'progress'

Every so often, it becomes clear just how little credit a country's government gives its population.

And then there's President Bush's Wednesday speech to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. El Presidente broached the subject of the war in Iraq, and how things are going quite well there, really. Straight from the transcript: "I want to share with you how two Iraqi bloggers -- they have bloggers in Baghdad, just like we've got here -- (laughter) -- 'Displaced families are returning home, marketplaces are seeing more activity ... We hope the governments of Baghdad and America do not lose their resolve.' "

So if two anonymous bloggers in Baghdad (who, it seems, we should be surprised even exist) say the city is safer, then that must be the case.

But it gets better. Later the same day, a White House deputy press secretary deflected questions on the identity of the bloggers, diminishing their importance by referring to their blog as one of "many different inputs," adding that, "Blogs are new for all of us." No, they're not, and neither are Iraqi bloggers -- does anyone remember Salam Pax?

And -- even better yet! -- The New York Times reported Thursday that the two unnamed bloggers Bush quoted are brothers -- both dentists -- who met with the president in the Oval Office on Dec. 9, 2004. They do know that people can look things up on this crazy new thing called the Internet, right?