And trim the hedges while you're at it

WaPo's Dana Milbank recounts the shenanigans in the House debate on Iraq this week, and unearths this doozy:

Fortunately, Ric Keller (R-Fla.) was on hand to restore gravity to the debate. He spoke about lawn care as a metaphor for Iraq:

"Imagine your next-door neighbor refuses to mow his lawn and the weeds are all the way up to his waist. You decide you are going to mow his lawn for him every single week. The neighbor never says thank you, he hates you, and sometimes he takes out a gun and shoots at you. Under these circumstances, do you keep mowing his lawn forever?"

Wha...? I've spent my entire lunch break trying to translate this metaphor into English. Maybe there's something lost in the translation from Florida Republicanese to metaphor.

Is Iraq supposed to be the neighbor, who is supposed to thank us for the great job we did mowing their lawn?