It’s been less than 24 hours, and the entire press corps is sputtering mad because President Bush’s teleconference with soldiers in Iraq was—gasp!—staged. By “staged” they mean that there was a deputy assistant defense secretary on hand to give the guys and gals in uniform a pep talk before the shoot.

Allison Barber prepped them on the questions they’d be asked and the order in which they would be asked them. Heck, I wouldn’t have put it past the administration to even set up the chairs in those neat little rows. I can’t believe the Bushies expect us to believe that stuff happens by accident.