On the way to class this morning, I heard the following sound clip (it comes at the end of that minute and a half clip) from White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, relaying President Bush's intention to retire the phrase "stay the course" when describing his Iraq policy.

Because it let the wrong impression about what was going on. And it allowed critics to say well here's an administration that's embarked a policy of not looking at what the situation is, when in fact, it's just the opposite. The president is determined not to leave Iraq short of victory but he also understands that it's important to capture the dynamism of the efforts that have been ongoing to make Iraq more secure and therefore enhance, uh, the clarification, or the greater precision.

It's more amusing when heard live. I wonder if Snow cries in front of his mirror every morning.

The rise of YouTube allows everyone to post their own Daily Show-esque comedic video montages: stay the course. Continuity is not necessarily some virtue; politicians should change their minds and messages as their understanding of situations changes. But to say "we never said that" when people can so easily pull footage of you saying exactly that just makes you look like an ass. In the last election the Bush team nailed Kerry on his flip-flop on the Iraq vote, so seeing them sweat and squirm while issuing all these false denials feels like the proper circle of hell for them to stew in.

P.S.: Firefox 2.0 has been released officially.