Bush sends his wife to Afghanistan

Why?

Well, because it's safe. Especially if you're protected to a level that Afghan president Karzai could only dream of. No matter, there's Laura feeding everyone a line of bullshit that even she can't possibly believe.

U.S. first lady Laura Bush appealed to the international community on Sunday not to abandon Afghanistan in the face of resurgent Taliban violence.

Rocked by daily battles with Taliban rebels that have killed some 12,000 people in two years, Kabul is to ask international donors in Paris this week to fund a $50-billion five-year development plan it hopes will undercut the insurgency.

Mrs Bush said a major thrust of her unannounced visit to Afghanistan was to shore up the international commitment as Afghan, U.S. and NATO forces struggle to contain Taliban guerrilla attacks and suicide bombs.

Unannounced? That would suggest the place is pretty dangerous.

But it's this crap that really grates.

Mrs Bush said her visit was a chance to showcase "hopeful signs" of reconstruction and improved women's rights since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban after the hardline movement refused to give up al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11 attacks.

The first lady traveled to the central Afghan town of Bamiyan, where in 2001 the Taliban blew up two ancient statues of Buddha carved into a mountainside.

Hopeful? Ferchissakes, everyone and their pet mule has been on the ground in the place for six fucking years. And we're just getting to "hopeful"?

I wonder. Would Laura like to talk about Katrina?

Ms. Bush waxed poetically about the women police officers in Afghanistan.

Here's a bit of truth. There are over 62.000 members of the highly corrupt Afghan national police and only 250 are women. Most have to live in hiding for fear of their lives.

Laura's little trip is another piece of Rovian-style stage management.

But something hit me - hard.

Dutiful Laura, who reportedly thinks of George very much the same as we do - (That he's an idiot) - has been watching the Democratic leadership race. She sees the wife of a former president actually coming within a hair's breadth of taking the thing.

In the highly unlikely event that Laura Bush tried to duplicate the Hillary Clinton experience she could claim that she offers more "expertise" and a better grasp of global affairs than her husband did when he was running for the presidency.

And she'd be dead right.