Memo to all of my conservative friends: Please don't have a heart attack. Yep, this the old 'yellow dawg' Democrat with a little credit where credit is due. No, let me make that ALOT of credit. To President George Bush.

President Bush's covert Thanksgiving trip into Baghdad was admirable, gutsy, and was the epitome of the actions of a true troop commander, and in this case, the "Commander-in-Chief". For those who even hint that the secretive mission was political, I say BULL. It was NOT political. This was not an aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego. No, this was Baghdad with no banners - a war zone, for cryin' out loud.

What the President did was what every other commander of a US military unit worldwide did on Thanksgiving Day - have dinner with the troops. Only, he had a little more difficulty pulling it off than simply marching to the mess hall. It was incredible to hear the news, after it was safe to be reported ... and even more incredible to see the video Thanksgiving night.

Logistically, the Thanksgiving trip will go down in the books with other storied Presidential "secret" trips - from FDR's 1941 rendezvous with Churchill off the coast of Newfoundland (when he actually had a "body double" waving to supporters while allegedly fishing in the Chesapeake), to LBJ's secret trip to Cam Ranh Bay, and Lincoln's overnight to Richmond at the close of the Civil War. And, I'm sure there are others we'll never know about.

So, hats off to you, Dubya. Also, to everyone involved. Well done, indeed. And, for the members of the Crawford, Texas, and Washington media who got all bent out of shape for the deception, three words: get over it!