Shameless

When I saw the Thanksgiving news about the President going to Iraq to cheer the troops, I thought this was admirable, something definitely worth doing. I didn’t grudge Bush the good PR. I felt something similar when the statue of Saddam was pulled down (in Firdos Square, was it?), and only later, as stories of a contrived crowd of Chalabi’s exiles made up the cheering supporters in that photo shoot, did I begin to feel gamed, like a dupe.
In a similar way, the good feeling about Bush’s holiday gesture is wearing off, when you hear that the charming story about the plane being spotted, like Santa, by a British Airways pilot now appears to be false. Couple that with merchandise (pins or keychains), ready to go, reading “Did I just see Air Force One?” and the stink of political hackery becomes unavoidable.
Why am I proved wrong every time I give this administration the benefit of the doubt?