After The Washington Post reported this morning that the failed search for WMD in Iraq has finally been ended, the White House was forced to respond today. The AP's Katherine Pfleger Shrader has the story:

The White House acknowledged Wednesday that its hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction — a two-year search costing millions of dollars — has closed down without finding the stockpiles that President Bush cited as a justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein.

[...]

The Iraq Survey Group — made up of as many as 1,500 military and intelligence specialists and support staff — is ending its search of military installations, factories and laboratories where it was thought that equipment and products might be converted to making weapons.

If it's not one thing for this administration, it's another. In an somewhat unrelated story, the White House is now trying to lower the expectations for democratization in Iraq. Jennifer Loven reports in the AP:

The White House sought Wednesday to lower expectations for Iraq's elections, suggesting that there could be little or no voting in the most unstable provinces and that polling is likely to be disrupted in places by violence.

"The election is not going to be perfect," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "This is the first time Iraqis will be able to freely choose their leaders. It's for a transitional government, and it's one of three elections that will take place over the course of this year."

Separately, Secretary of State Colin Powell said American troops will begin leaving this year as the Iraqi army, national guard and police force take on a larger security role.

The spinmeisters in the administration may try to convince the American people that the lack of WMD doesn't matter or that a sub-standard, quasi-Democratic Government is sufficient, but they must not be allowed to dupe the American people. It is incumbent on the media of this country to report to the American people that Bush and his cronies have met very few of their promises in Iraq. If they don't, the nation will be seriously damaged.