MemeMachineGo!

When your approval rating’s in the toilet, the solution is clear: make sure the Department of Agriculture talks about how great things are going in Iraq in every speech.

Career appointees at the Department of Agriculture were stunned last week to receive e-mailed instructions that include Bush administration “talking points” — saying things such as “President Bush has a clear strategy for victory in Iraq” — in every speech they give for the department.

“The President has requested that all members of his cabinet and sub-cabinet incorporate message points on the Global War on Terror into speeches, including specific examples of what each agency is doing to aid the reconstruction of Iraq,” the May 2 e-mail from USDA speechwriter Heather Vaughn began.

There’s even a PDF with helpful examples.

Several topics I’d like to talk about today — Farm Bill, trade with Japan, WTO, avian flu … but before I do, let me touch on a subject people always ask about … progress in Iraq.

I can’t wait to hear HUD, Interior, and Transportation chime in.