FRom yesterday's White House press gaggle:

MR. McCLELLAN: ... There are those who are opposed to democracy and freedom in Iraq. They represent a small minority.

"Minority." The White House likes this word. The White House likes it so much that Scott McClellan used it again today -- a lot:

MR. McCLELLAN: ...the President has great confidence in our troops and he knows that they will defeat these minority extremist elements that are trying to undermine democracy and freedom for the Iraqi people....

MR. McCLELLAN: ...This is part of taking our fight to these minority extremist elements who are trying to derail the transition process and prevent a democratic future from taking hold in Iraq....

MR. McCLELLAN: ...But we will continue to stay the course and finish the job, and we will defeat these minority of extremist elements that exist in Iraq....

MR. McCLELLAN: ...There are some minority extremist elements that want nothing more than to derail the transition process and prevent the Iraqi people from realizing a free and democratic future....

MR. McCLELLAN: ...There is this small minority of extremist elements that want to do everything they can to derail that process, but they cannot....

If this were coming from any other administration, I'd say it suggests that they're confusing insurrection (or multiple insurrections) with a Massachusetts town meeting -- that they don't understand that you can raise holy hell in a country without first getting holy hell approved by a majority vote.

But this is the Bush administration we're talking about. What does Bush know, or care, about democracy?

I think the administration is confusing the situation in Iraq with an annual shareholders' meeting. That's what Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld know best; even Condi the Academic has logged time in the world of big business, as a onetime Chevron board member.

There can be a lot of anger and discontent at a shareholders' meeting. But if the disgruntled don't own 50% of the shares plus at least one share above that, it's as if they don't exist at all.

That's what the Bushies know. That's how they think everything in the world should work. I'm not sure they understand that some things just don't operate that way.