Three Christmases To Go

To answer everyone’s question, yes, “the Secret Service put everyone who attended President George W. Bush’s Baghdad news conference through several layers of security Sunday.” There were no guns in the room, just shoes. And a very angry reporter.

Make that a very surprised angry reporter. Journalists weren’t told in advance that Maliki’s Secret Santa would be making a guest appearance.

But never mind the details. McClatchy’s story is accompanied by a Fox News clip of the incident, and the crawl is fascinating. We voted here for Vince Vaughn, although “Teen Vampire Drama” was a close second.

Update: Muntader will get his day in court Wednesday, when a judge decides whether to press charges. Prominent Iraqi lawyer Dheyaa Saadi is stepping in to defend him. “He only freely expressed himself to the occupier,” said Saadi, “and he has such a right according to international law.”

And while Muntader was beaten by Maliki’s guards immediately after the incident, his brother tells network Al-Baghdadia that he later spoke with Muntader by phone. “Thank God, I am in good health,” Muntader told him.