While watching the latest edition of The McLaughlin Report on PBS program host John McLaughlin, after listing on the screen the cumulative economic and personal toll of the Iraq War, then provided interesting footage of a conversation involving two American troops stationed in Baghdad.

To say that these individuals were not "happy campers" would be a classic understatement.  The first soldier, a corporal, complained about the unrealistic scheduling, and how it was impossible to obtain sufficient rest before going out on the next patrol.

At that point the African American soldier with whom the corporal was communicating made his feelings crystal clear.  He tersely stated his willingness to make a compromise agreement extending his service, which he clearly despised.

The African American soldier declared that he would extend his Iraq service by 15 months at no additional pay if one condition could be met.  The condition involved George W. Bush riding along with him on patrol for that entire period.

The Foley pedo scandal ate up so much bandwidth most people don't even know Baghdad is under a daytime curfew.  Therefore, it's no surprise this shocking exchange on FOX News fell completely off the table.  It's so tasty, I just had to pick it up, transcribe it, and share it around.  This is a dog bites man kind of story.

Shep Smith is a popular FOX News anchorman, yet even this avid supporter of the war, Bush, and all things conservative finally got so enraged, he stomped Bill Kristol like a grape.  Talk about making Kristol whine.   Shep started off calling this administration's policies horrifying and repulsive and it went downhill from there.  By the end of the segment, Shep was holding Bush responsible for any deaths that occur in Iraq between now and the mid-term elections!  In so many words!  On FOX NEWS!  This is Must See TV.  Transcripts and links to this "come to Jesus" talk are below the fold.  

You gotta love the cosmopolitan parochialism of New Yorkers, so smug in their Steinbergian view of the world.  Preaching the inevitability of the New American Century, the neo-cons forgot the warning of Yogi Berra, the great Yankees philosopher,  "In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is."   The last time Bill Kristol was on Comedy Central, he was doing victory laps.  He even went slumming and appeared on The Daily Show, taunting Jon Stewart "It's not too late to join us."  

Then the wheels came off...  

Via BooMan and our own Georgia10, I see Bill Kristol is attempting to separate the failure of George W. Bush from conservative ideology.

BILL KRISTOL: I think it's become in people's minds an emblem of the administration that just isn't as serious about the competent execution of the functions of government as it should be. And even -- I'm struck talking to conservatives and Republicans -- they agree with the president on basic political philosophy, the they agree with his basic policy agenda, but they are worried that they just don't seem to be able to execute as well as they should be.

Kristol's just the latest in a line of conservatives to claim that Republican policies didn't fail Bush; Bush failed the Republican policies.

They cannot separate Bush from their movement, however. They can't escape the monster they created.