Listening to a Tony Snow press conference is often infuriating, but just as often jaw-droppingly surreal. Surreal not just because of the nonsense that streams from Tony's lips, but because of how the assembled press seems to be listening to some other event altogether.
Here's a reminder of today's events in Iraq.
Suspected al-Qaida bombers toppled the towering minarets of Samarra's revered Shiite shrine on Wednesday, dealing a bold blow to Iraqi hopes for peace and reopening old wounds a year after the mosque's Golden Dome was destroyed.
"Suspected al-Qaida bombers" would be another way of saying we have no idea who managed to destroy a mosque that was being protected by Iraqi police, Iraqi army, and American forces. And that bombing was only one of several horrors in Iraq today, that included felling a bridge, blowing up a police station, and the death of three more American troops.
In addition to today's events, the Pentagon issued its report on events over the last quarter, confirming what we already suspected: by most any measure, things in Iraq are getting much worse.
Suicide and other bombings have climbed throughout Iraq since the start of the U.S.-led security crackdown in Baghdad, driving civilian casualties to their highest mark since 2004, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
So what did Tony say when asked about the rising violence in Iraq?
It does fit a pattern that we see throughout the region, which is that when you see things moving towards success, or when you see signs of success, that there are acts of violence.
This black is white, up is down, piece of nonsense has been repeated by the administration over, and over, and over. They might as well be saying "you can tell the brakes are working, because the car keeps going faster," or "the best sign that the oven is on, is how frost keeps forming on the pot."
Tony, George, Dick, assorted quislings and toadies, the measure of progress is progress, not anti-progress. When the goal is reduced violence, you measure that by looking for reductions in violence, not increases.
So how did the reporter who got this latest iteration of "it's so bad, you know it's good" respond?
This could actually be read, then, as a sign of success for the American...
I can only hope that this reporter worked for Fox, or some other branch of the RNC. Now excuse me, I'm going to go toss my dinner in the freezer. You know, so it'll make progress toward cooking.