Here's one reason we're looking forward to Jan. 20, 2009: Finally, President Bush will stop sucking all the irony out of the room and writers can have some back.

Participating in a videoconference Thursday in which he was told about continuing challenges in Afghanistan, Bush told the U.S. troops on the other end of the video link:

I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed.

It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks.

We know it's the easy point to make here, but we do seem to remember a war Bush supported and that he could have participated in if he finds war so romantic. We also seem to remember him avoiding that particular war. But then, maybe that's just us.