Bush's Turkey was a Turkey

It turns out that the photo of George W. carrying a turkey among some soldiers in Iraq was a buffet line decoration. That Drudge led his web page this evening with this story implies that somebody somewhere is going to have some sort of questions about it. Anyways, according to the WaPo:

Officials said they did not know the turkey would be there or that Bush would pick it up. A contractor had roasted and primped the turkey to adorn the buffet line, while the 600 soldiers were served from cafeteria-style steam trays, the officials said. They said the bird was not placed there in anticipation of Bush's stealthy visit, and military sources said a trophy turkey is a standard feature of holiday chow lines.

The scene, which lasted just a few seconds, was not visible to a reporter who was there but was recorded by a pool photographer and described by officials yesterday in response to questions raised in Washington.

(shrug)

Gasp. W. was clowning around with a turkey.