Someone smack this guy

Buried at the end of an article describing the pessimistic turn in White House rhetoric on Iraq, we have this gem:

[Bush] had lunch at the Pentagon last week with four Middle East experts to solicit ideas about how to stabilize Iraq.

"I would say he was deeply concerned about how many lives are being lost, both American and Iraqi, and how much this is costing the American taxpayer," said Eric Davis, a Rutgers University professor who was among those invited, who urged Bush to launch a New Deal-style economic program in Iraq. "He would like to see progress sooner rather than later."

So, now we've got folks not just trying to scrap the New Deal, but to out-source it. Faboo.