Ellington

They truly treat us with contempt. First, AP reports that Bush's videoconference with Iraqi soldiers was staged. Now the Village Voice tells us that one of the "soldiers" is actually a PR flack. Contempt, I tell you.

First, the Voice:

George W. Bush — what a newsmaker. In the true sense of the word. This morning, he made it up. The videoconference his handlers set up with U.S. soldiers in Iraq was staged, as the AP's Deb Reichmann just pointed out.

But here's another part of the flack attack you may not know: The soldier on the left side of the front row was actually a flack herself, though she didn't reveal it during the regime's 24-minute infomercial.

Her name is Corine Lombardo, and I hope she stays safe in Iraq. It's a dangerous place even for flacks. But the fact is, as my sharp-eyed colleague David Axe tipped me, Lombardo probably sees more action watching CNN than action. (For a sample of her work, click here.)

AP:

It was billed as a conversation with U.S. troops, but the questions President Bush asked on a teleconference call Thursday were choreographed to match his goals for the war in Iraq and Saturday's vote on a new Iraqi constitution.