About that "democratically elected foreign leaders" thing ...

From yesterday's White House press gaggle, we have a Scott McClellan moment that not one "journalist" in the room had the freakin' sense to pick up on. The Corps takes Scottie to task for the administration's rekindled affection for swindler, con man, pathological liar and Judith Miller love slave Ahmed Chalabi:

Q Scott, some people have noted that it's more than a little ironic that a year ago, the U.S. was kicking down Ahmed Chalabi's door, and now he's being welcomed at the highest levels here in Washington. It seems to be a startling rehabilitation.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Deputy Prime Minister Chalabi is one of a number of elected leaders who have visited Washington in recent months, and we believe it's very important to work closely with the Iraqi government and their leaders to advance democracy, build prosperity, and improve security for the Iraqi people. And that's what we're doing. And Vice President Mehdi is also in Washington later this week, and he will be meeting with a number of individuals while he's here.

Q But here is a fellow who the Pentagon embraced, and then, a year later, couldn't get far enough away from, and now he seems to be -- is he back in the White House's good graces?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, it's up to the Iraqi people to choose who their leaders are. And Iraq is a sovereign government, and they are a friend of America, and we work very closely with them to help address the needs and advance democracy for the Iraqi people.

"It's up to the Iraqi people to choose who their leaders are." Why, yes, Scott, it is, just as it's up to the Venezuelan people to choose their leader, but that hasn't stopped the United States' constant and blistering attacks on democratically-elected Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, has it?

The double standards are enough to make you gag, aren't they?

BONUS TRACK: As someone who has an actual background in math and understands at least the fundamentals of cryptology, I found this highly entertaining:

[Christopher] Hitchens then turned the subject back to Chalabi, his good friend. I asked him if he thought Chalabi had been passing American intelligence to the Iranians. "No," he insisted. "It's possible that with his training, you know, at [The University of] Chicago that with his own ability he was able to crack the codes. He is a mathematical genius. His expertise is cryptology. It is possible that he broke the codes himself."

Sure, Chris. Maybe Ahmed broke the code in his spare time. And maybe, just because I'm bored, I'll build a space shuttle in my back yard when I need a break from finding a cure for cancer.

Christopher Hitchens really is one of the stupidest human beings on the planet and why he gets so much face time in the media is an absolute mystery.