The president seems to like folksy sayings, so I've got one for him: "Money talks and bullshit walks."

Recently, Dick Cheney stated, "But I think the level of activity that we see today, from a military standpoint, I think will clearly decline. I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency. So I think we're making major progress."

This seems consistent with an earlier statement by Bush, who said, "We're making steady progress in implementing our five-step plan toward the goal we all want: completing the mission so that Iraq is stable and self-governing, and American troops can come home with the honor they have earned."

More recently, Dubya has said of the Iraqis, "And their daily life is improving."

Now we all remember back in 2003 when Bush popped into Baghdad for Thanksgiving. It's two years later. According to the administration we're making steady progress, daily life is improving and the insurgency is in its last throes. So why not plan a return visit in 2005? Why not make it a well-publicized visit instead of sneaking in under cover of darkness and leaving before it's public knowledge you were there? After all, things have improved in the last two years, haven't they? Finally, to really demonstrate his honest conviction in what he says, Bush could share his Baghdad dinner with newly enlisted PFCs Jenna and Barbara Bush.

In the Information Age, facts and truth are the coin of the realm. And as the saying goes, money talks and...well, you get the picture.

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