"One of the lessons of democracy is, a lot of times what happens at the local level informs people at the central government level. And competition is pretty healthy in a democracy. As I told you, the local folks are reconciling; they're getting along better, they understand they have a common future. And the people in Baghdad are beginning to respond. They pass budgets. They're now arguing about their 2008 budget. I'm not sure which government does their budget work better -- ours or theirs. I can tell you this: We definitely have an issue with earmarks. I don't know if they do yet or not."
-- President Bush, speaking about Iraq in Las Vegas on Thursday.
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