Anyone who's paying attention knows that opinions on Bush are somewhat mixed within military personnel serving in Iraq. "One weekend a month my ass," from reservists and the Army paper trashing the Repubs for slashing vetrans benefits are two examples. My friend in the AF expressed it thusly when I talked to him this past summer:
OJ: Wanna take any potshots at the current administration?
JD: No. Can't do it. But i will say this; we certainly have an administration that inspires critical thinking.
The question then, given the White House's need to shield Dubya from criticism, especially when the press is about, is how to make sure only the right kinds of troops are there when the pResident drops in unnanounced? (answer inside)
The answer
from CNN:
But the soldiers who were in the hangar or at the dining hall with the president were told, if they wanted, they could enter a lottery, and they would have Thanksgiving dinner with the chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer. So they said, what the heck, let's do it. And then the next thing you know, the president of the United States pops out from behind the curtain.
So you have a lottery to have dinner with L. Paul, screen the winners and send in Prancer. A cunning way to ensure that the crowd self-selects to be pro-Bush, no?