Do the political analysts for CNN even bother watching the news they’re being paid to interpret??

WHITFIELD: So we’ve been hearing both camps say they want to focus more on the issues, the issues as of late, voters have said they want to hear more about the economy. They want to hear more about the wars, the ongoing wars on terrorism and the war in Iraq. So if that’s the case, then why does it seem that whether it’s the latest intelligence document or whether it’s the latest reviews on Congress, all paint a very pessimistic view of the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism. It seems as though Americans are still very much in support of the way the Bush administration is handling things. Doesn’t it seem like a contradiction?

SCHNEIDER: Well, think of it this way. There are three different issues that are dominating this election: the economy, that’s John Kerry’s issue. He does very well on that, although recently Bush has made some gains. The war on terrorism, clearly Bush’s issue and the Republican convention really made that central to the message they wanted to send out. Bush will be strong in fighting terror.

Iraq is a key. The Iraq issue has been helpful to Kerry because voters who vote on Iraq are dissatisfied with the war and unhappy with the way things are going. But their numbers were diminishing. The White House did a very smart thing. At the end of June, they staged a very elaborate ceremony in Baghdad where the United States, the occupying power, handed over power to the Iraqi government. Ever since the end of June, Iraq has diminished in importance as a concern to American voters.

What the hell is he talking about? If this dude had been paying attention, he’d remember that the news about the Iraqi handover was that the “elaborate ceremony” never happened because everybody was afraid of getting blown up. The closest thing they had to a ceremony was Paul Bremer speeding to the airport and Bush writing “Freedom Kicks Ass” on a bar napkin.