It’s not everyday when the leader of a super power cites your blog as a reference for his speech!
In a speech addressing critics of the war, President Bush cited a post by a pair of Iraqi bloggers as proof that life in Baghdad was improving, slowly but surely.
(The Sydney Morning Herald) “‘Displaced families are returning home, marketplaces are seeing more activity, stores that were long shuttered are now reopening,'” Bush quoted the bloggers as writing.
In a speech, Bush did not identify them, but the White House said he was referring to an opinion article published March 5 in the Wall Street Journal by the two bloggers, Omar and Mohammed Fadhil.
Most political (or middle eastern) bloggers will probably be familiar with these names, but for those of you who are drawing blank faces these are none other than the publishers of Iraq The Model, a blog highlighting the good, bad and the humorous of living life in Iraq.
Ever since the mention by Bush their traffic has tripled, as unfamiliar readers from the left and the right flock to see what their blog is all about.
Regardless of your viewpoint, its good to see more and more bloggers being mentioned among government officials, especially heads of state. Now if only these figure heads could actually start a blog themselves, instead of watching from the sidelines. ;-)
