Okay folks here it comes. Realizing the surge (as positive as it has been security-wise) has done little to achieve what was once the primary goal of the American occupation in Iraq, the Bushites have once again rushed to huddle in the back of their medicine show wagon, and they've come out with a whole new trunk of sleight-of-hand tricks and smoke and mirrors.

From the NYT: "With American military successes outpacing political gains in Iraq, the Bush administration has lowered its expectation of quickly achieving major steps toward unifying the country, including passage of a long-stymied plan to share oil revenues and holding regional elections."
(link...)

What? Did I hear that right?

Trying to turn this total defeat of purpose into a success story will not be an easy task, but Bush, Inc. still believe their magic-mojo is intact and now they're about to introduce a new act they hope will make heads spin.

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen. In this ring, we have the amazing new spinning act straight from Washington, D.C. Three delicate dishes balanced on the end of really long sticks. We have the illusionist with the sad violin trying to lull us into a romantic fantasy, so we won't see the reality---that we've already reintergrated members of the Baath Party; that we know the UN will do whatever we want it to do, and that we know the Iraqi governement simply has to have a budget.

Unfortunately, the implications of this new direction will be grim and costly for American taxpayers because it prolongs our stay there indefinitely. It also means our soldiers and Iraqi civilians will continue to be victims of sectarian violence. Bombings and death tolls are lower now, but they could surge again, and the notion of an all out civil war hasn't been eliminated, just left simmering.

The truth is folks, our government really doesn't want to bring the troops home.

The American ambassador says, "It is going to be one thing at a time, maybe two things at a time, we hope with increasing momentum,” he said. “It is a long-term process.”

Yeah, long term? Like maybe forever?

Trumpeting success before election time is the white rabbit Bush has grabbed by the ears, but has everyone forgotten the reasons we were told we were in Iraq in the first place? Won't some people remember?

Does bringing free elections and democracy to a people who have had no voice in their own destiny ring a bell?

Does the solution to the oil sharing problem that is contributing to the violence sound familiar?

Does stabilizing the Middle East mean anything anymore?

Hmm...do I smell a Karl Rove in all this? Or is it just Bush's peanut breath? Everytime Bush draws another pretty scarf from out of some clown's ear, the multitudes of believers rise to their feet ans applaud.

That's what is so sickening about all this. The Republicans were just beginning to wake up. Duped believers were becoming doubters, and it seemed like the Iraq circus might be about to fold up, pack up, and go away. But wait! Now the spinmasters are running into the center ring again. and by God they are dazzling in those fancy suits with gold braid and shiney brass buttons. You know it won't be long before all the clowns will follow.

Rubes beware! Don't feed the animals and please keep your fingers out of their cages.