Bush's Battlefield Envy

Snow replied: "The President."

In April, First Lady Laura Bush said that "no one suffers more" than she and the president when they watch television footage of the carnage in Iraq.

It was in July 2003 that Bush had this to say to America's would-be attackers in Iraq: "My answer is, Bring 'em on." (Bush has since expressed regret over that comment.)

White House Gets Bloggy

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Bush didn't have to go out of his way on Friday to endear himself to his guests, who had been screened for sycophancy.

And as their ensuing blog posts make clear, they lapped up even his most timeworn talking points and hoariest stories.

For instance, Bush once again told his oft-repeated story about how his father fought the Japanese in World War II, but now he himself counts the prime minister of Japan as one of his closest allies. Apparently, it still chokes Bush up.

Ward Carroll of military.com wrote that Bush "grew very emotional as he made a linkage between his father's service in World War II and the fact that Japan is now an ally and then said, 'I've had meetings with the prime minister of the country he fought.' He actually teared up as he said that."

" CJ," an active-duty soldier and blogger, wrote: "Being right next to him, I caught a single tear attempt to roll down his left cheek before he casually wiped it away."

Matthew Burden, a former Army officer who blogs under the name Blackfive, wrote: "The President was very intelligent, razor sharp, warm, focused, emotional (especially about his dad), and genuine."

Overall, Burden wrote: "[I]t was very cool. The President of the United States slapped my hand and called me "brutha". Top that."

Michael Abramowitz wrote about the session in Sunday's Washington Post: "Judging from some of the accounts of the Friday meeting, the president offered up little news. . . .

"Still, the hour-long meeting in the Roosevelt Room offered Bush another opportunity to break through what he sees as the filter of the traditional news media, while also reaching out to the providers of a new source of information for soldiers, their families and others who follow the conflict in Iraq closely.