on tuesday, 12/14/04, president george 'curley' bush bestowed america's highest civilian award on former cia director george 'moe' tenet, former coalition authority adminstrator paul 'larry' bremer and retired general tommy franks (who, as you can see, did his best to keep his face hidden).

"this honor goes to three men who have played pivotal roles in great events and whose efforts have made our country more secure and advanced the cause of human liberty," bush said.

according to author bob woodward, tenet told bush--before the iraq invasion--finding weapons of mass destruction there was a "slam dunk".  bremer, who disbanded the former iraqi army recently stated publicly the administration had not provided enough troops to secure iraq.

an anonymous observer pretty much summed up my take on this: "franks must have felt really alone on that stage."