Turkey and baloney

It's all about image, about control, about perception, about deception, and the truth and the public and the common good and all the rest of that left-wing liberal claptrap be damned.

There is no other conclusion to be drawn from Shrub's "dramatic Thanksgiving Day surprise."

He flew into Iraq with an "entourage...fitted with ballistic vests, and the plane came in with neither running lights nor cabin lights, parking on a dark landing strip." He had a "secret, two-hour stay Thursday evening and never left the grounds of a heavily fortified U.S. base." The trip was so secret that even his parents didn't know in advance; apparently even dad, a former president and director of the CIA, couldn't be trusted with the secret.

But even if GHWB couldn't know, the White House made damn sure the press did.

Air Force One then left Texas for Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, where Mr. Bush switched to another Air Force One, a refueled 747. The group picked up a few more reporters, bringing the total number of journalists on the trip, including camera crews, to 13. Reporters on the trip were instructed not to tell their families or their employers where they were going.

Certainly, the trip achieved one of its short-term goals:

The surprise visit stunned and confused his rivals, who struggled — in the midst of Thanksgiving dinner — to balance praise for the president's gesture with renewed criticism of his Iraq policy, which they said would be among his greatest vulnerabilities in next year's election. ...

Even aides to Democratic presidential candidates expressed grudging admiration for the political skills of this White House.

However, the longer term is still up for grabs, as a Washington Post analysis notes:

While the troops cheered the moment, it is too soon to know whether the image of Bush in his Army jacket yesterday will become a symbol of strong leadership or a symbol of unwarranted bravado. ...

Iraqis may be reassured that the United States will put down the insurgency and restore order in their country. Or they may take the image of Bush landing unannounced at night without lights and not venturing from a heavily fortified military installation as confirmation that the security situation in Iraq is dire indeed.

A significant number of Iraqis already seem to be taking the latter view, based on what AP reported:

"He visited Iraq for the sake of the Americans, not the Iraqis. He didn't come to see how we are doing,'' Muzher Abd Hanush, 54, said in his barbershop. "To come, say hello and leave - what good does that do?'' ...

"If he takes care of Iraq, he will be welcomed here. If not - whether he's here or in the White House - he is of no use to us,'' said Fadel Hadi, 59, playing dominoes at a teahouse. "If his visit brings us some good, he will be welcome every day.''

Ahmed Kheiri, 24, saw the visit as a campaign tactic.

"He came for the sake of the elections,'' Kheiri said. "He never thought of the Iraqi people. He doesn't care about us. It was a personal visit for his own sake.''

Iraqi politicians had mixed reactions to the visit. Mouwafik al-Rubei'e, a member of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council who met Bush on Thursday night, said the president "reaffirmed his country's commitment to building a new, democratic and prosperous Iraq.''

Another member of the Governing Council, Mahmoud Othman, said the trip meant little.

"We cannot consider Bush's arrival at Baghdad International Airport yesterday a visit to Iraq,'' he said. "He did not meet with ordinary Iraqis. Bush was only trying to boost the morale of his troops.'' ...

During Friday prayers on the Muslim holy day, imams at Shiite and Sunni mosques alike criticized the visit, saying Bush should expend his energy helping Iraq recover from war instead of flying across the world to pose for the cameras.

"Instead of coming here to celebrate Thanksgiving with his troops, Bush should release the innocent people in his prisons and arrest the real terrorists conducting attacks,'' Skeikh Abdul Hadi al-Daraji said at the Muhsen Mosque in the poor, Shiite Muslim neighborhood of Sadr City.

"First Bush said he would liberate Iraq. Now he is occupying it. How long will he stay?'' asked the imam at Baghdad's largest Sunni mosque, Abu Hanifa. ...

"The way he made the trip shows he's afraid of Iraqis,'' said Mohammed Kamel, 40, a former soldier who now drives a taxi. "He should be; we're a fierce people.'' ...

Alla Abdul Wahab, a 38-year-old windowpane seller, hadn't heard about Clinton's trip, but asked what Bush's visit would ultimately do for Iraqis.

"What good will this visit bring?'' he asked. "He came to see the Americans - that's all."

But of course none of that mattered. What mattered was a chance for Bush to show off his "spectacular vote-winning form."