May 1, 2006 
On this the solemn occasion of the third anniversary of Flight Suit Day, let us join together in remembrance.
It has been three years since that sunlit day in which our President stood on the deck of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, in front of a banner proclaiming “Mission Accomplished,” to tell us that the military phase of the Iraq operation was over. A CNN poll tells us that today 9 percent of Americans believe the U.S. mission in Iraq has been accomplished, which makes one yearn for whatever it is that 9 percent are smokin’.
I think this will go down as the symbol of the Bush administration — like Carter’s malaise speech, Bush’s father with the carton of milk, LBJ falling on his metaphorical sword in a nationally televised address. It captures everything. The arrogance. The dingbat personality cult. The fleeting triumph of Potemkin stagecraft over tangible accomplishment. The happy willingness to let others take care of the president’s messes.
Could be, but he’s still got 1,000 or so days to pull off something even more absurd.
McJoan has posted a “then and now” commemoration of the great day at Daily Kos. See also Think Progress.
See other observances from The Left Coaster, Digby, Atrios, and Matt Yglesias.
President Bush celebrated the day by announcing that we’ve turned another corner. Unfortunately, we’ve turned so many corners that we have, in fact, been going in circles for some time.
Update: See Greg Mitchell in Editor & Publisher for a roundup of news coverage and commentary from three years ago.
