bush says Iraqis are 'voting for a president'; is he lying or stupid?

As President Bush correctly noted in May, it is the National Assembly -- not the Iraqi people -- that will determine who serves in the executive branch, electing Iraq's president and two deputies of state. Collectively, these three officials form the state’s presidential council, and must unanimously select Iraq's next prime minister, Iyad Allawi’s successor.

The prime minister is responsible for presenting the Presidential Council with recommendations for the Cabinet of Ministers. Upon a vote of confidence from the National Assembly, the first phase of Iraq's "transitional period" toward full sovereignty is considered ended and its second phase will have just begun.

Phase two ends once the Assembly finishes drafting a permanent constitution, approved in a public referendum, and a new government is elected; if everything goes according to plan, this will all occur by December 31, 2005.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=6800