Throughout the course of this day, in newspapers and news shows across the country, the American people are learning how our soldiers in Iraq feel about Bush's so-called surge of troops.  From the AP:

"Sir, I think we need to just keep doing what we're doing," Spc. Jason T. Green, with the 101st Military Intelligence Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division, told Gates during a breakfast session with about 15 soldiers.

"I really think we need more troops here," Green said. "With more presence on the ground, more troops might hold them off long enough to where we can get the Iraqi Army trained up."

From the New York Times:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, talking to enlisted soldiers on his second day in Iraq, heard broad support today for a proposal to send more American forces to Iraq, an idea that has emerged as a leading option as the Bush administration considers a strategy shift.

"I really think we need more troops here," said Specialist Jason T. Glenn, one of several soldiers at a breakfast meeting with Mr. Gates who backed the idea. "With more presence here," he said, security might improve to a point that "we can get the Iraqi Army trained up."

And from the Washington Post:

In a breakfast earlier in the day with more than a dozen enlisted soldiers, however, Gates got an earful about the need for more personnel.

"I really think we need more troops here, with more presence on the ground. More troops might hold [the insurgents] off long enough to where we can get the Iraq army trained up," said Spec. Jason Glenn, a member of an intelligence unit in the first infantry division.

Sensing the pattern here?  It seems that the "boots on the ground" wanting an increase in troop levels is about to become conventional wisdom.

But let's take a look  at a couple of other responses Gates got during that breakfast session that haven't been reported.  

I think we need better -- a different vehicle for patrols. I don't think the humvee is the right vehicle. You know, there's too many people dying over here, you know, getting injured, coming home with no legs or arms or whatever. They humvee is not made for this.  [...]

Some of the stuff I've seen sounds like, (as you said, would be the little nit-picky ?) stuff, but some of the (stuff ?) needs to concentrate more on the bigger areas, like the vehicles, the up-armor and stuff, what they were saying earlier about getting them better developed (ones ?).

For some reason, concerns about safety, losing limbs or dying didn't rate a mention in the story playing out across the country.  Not as important as Jason telling us we need more troops.  

Of course it's hard to say which is worse...that the media ignored the concerns about devastating injuries and death, or the response to those concerns by an unnamed staff member:

(Off mike) -- some of these things we can't -- (inaudible) -- that's just the way it is.