Bush today in a news conference probably surprised his handlers by proclaiming that the troops on the Abraham Lincoln were to blame for the “Mission Accomplished” banner. This is almost certainly not true, since Scott Sforza, a former ABC producer who now works in the White House communications office, has been credited with the banner in the past:

Media strategists noted afterward that Mr. Sforza and his aides had choreographed every aspect of the event, even down to the members of the Lincoln crew arrayed in coordinated shirt colors over Mr. Bush’s right shoulder and the ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner placed to perfectly capture the president and the celebratory two words in a single shot. The speech was specifically timed for what image makers call ‘magic hour light,’ which cast a golden glow on Mr. Bush.

Even if his team didn’t place that banner he was still spouting “Mission Accomplished” when talking to troops in Qatar more than a month later.

UPDATE 7:02 PM:
The White House has come to the conclusion they can’t pull this one off- they’ve admitted the President was talking out his ass.