Who needs a Tony Snow?

The White House has a new, number one cheerleader in the person of CBS Nightly News Anchor Katie Couric.

'On assignment' in Iraq this week, Katie has filed one flattering, pro-administration, pro-surge report after another. In one, she's busy touring an airy, laugh-filled Baghdad marketplace. In another, she's tooling around an oh-so-sedate Fallujah with General David H. Petraeus. As they stretch out in the back of a Humvee, Katie asks the top Army kick how things are going...

Petraeus: “Very well, Katie.”

Katie: "Yes, it's clear that things here are under control. How important was the recent 30,000 troop surge to this success?"

Petraeus: "Huge. The extra troops have allowed us to really keep things in line. We're now spiraling up instead of spiraling down."

Katie smiles contentedly, adjusts her sunglasses and, no doubt, goes on to ask the general if his Humvee comes equipped with a lighted vanity mirror she can use to touch-up her face. One would think Iraq's heat and desert winds must wreak absolute havoc on a top journalist's hairdo.

And, what was up with the timing of Katie's 'frontlines' assignment and W's 'surprise' visit to war-torn Iraq. Is there any doubt conversations were held between the White House and CBS to negotiate a dramatic, on-the-ground interview between the two embattled figureheads?

Katie's recent reportage indicates her having come full circle in her career. She started out as a high school cheerleader and has now gone back to the future on 43's behalf. Who needs Tony Snow when Katie's available?