Bush astroturfs glowing comments from 2 Iraqi bloggers.

I'm not sure if this is exactly astroturfing but its pretty close. And he said it was two bloggers, though it's actually one blog. Pooooo. AND these guys are dentists who visited Bush in the WH in 2004. This is quite deceptive at best, and dishonest most likely, and possibly criminal, depending on how one defines domestic propaganda. If Bush solicited this with the plan of foisting it on Americans, I think it is criminal.

To back up his point that pulling out of Iraq would be a disaster, President Bush has quoted opinions from the secretary of defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top U.S. general in Iraq – and now, two bloggers from Baghdad.

Bush made a surprising reference to the blogosphere during a spirited defense of his war strategy on Wednesday. The mention seemed even more unusual because the president didn't identify whom he was quoting, so he seemed to be leaning on anonymous commentary.

"They have bloggers in Baghdad, just like we've got here," Bush told the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Then he began to quote: "Displaced families are returning home, marketplaces are seeing more activity, stores that were long shuttered are now reopening. We feel safer about moving in the city now. Our people want to see this effort succeed."

His point was that Iraqi people are seeing signs of progress – and what better example of their unbridled expression than blogs.

It turns out, the White House made clear hours later, that he was quoting two brothers, Mohammed and Omar Fadhil. They write an English-language blog from Baghdad called IraqTheModel.com. Both of them got to meet Bush in the Oval Office in 2004.

In his speech, Bush was pulling select lines from an op-ed that the brothers wrote. It appeared in The Wall Street Journal on March 5.

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Pajamas Media, of course. This is pretty sick, and the Bushidiot needs to be called on. KO did him up pretty good but a few more cards and letters to your local papers would be nice. Really would like to be at the next presser. A few well placed questions would be fun.