ROGER SIMON COLUMN
DECEMBER 7, 2005
WASHINGTON - - President Bush was subdued when he delivered his second of four planned speeches on Iraq Wednesday.
The mood was reminiscent of the speech he gave in New Orleans in September. All you had to do was substitute the word "terrorists" for "hurricanes."
Bush, following the example of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, has dropped the word "insurgents." Instead, Bush used the word "terrorists" 23 times in his nine-page speech and "Saddamists" 10 times, often linking the two.
Bush spoke not in front a hoo-rahing military crowd for a change, but in front of the Council on Foreign Relations, a group not known for wild - - or any - - displays of emotion.
His speech was interrupted only once by a moderate ripple of applause when he said: "And now the terrorists think they can make America run in Iraq, and that is not going to happen so long as I'm the Commander-in-Chief!"
His last speech on Iraq a week ago was carried live by only CBS among the big commercial networks. This time, they all boycotted, leaving the job to cable.
Nor did the White House ballyhoo the speech as "major" as it did the last one. Aside from being about staying the course, the speech was about reconstructing Iraq, the progress made and the difficulties.
"Like most of Iraq, the reconstruction in Najaf has proceeded with fits and starts since liberation - - it's been uneven," Bush said. "Sustaining electric power remains a major challenge - - and construction has begun on three new substations to help boost capacity. Because there is a shortage of clean water, new water treatment and sewage units are being installed. Security in Najaf has improved substantially, but threats remain. There are still kidnappings, and militias and armed gangs are exerting more influence than they should in a free society."
As I said, a subdued speech.
The purpose of the speeches is not just to make a better case to the American people for the war in Iraq, but to boost Bush's approval ratings, which now hover either in the high thirties or low forties, depending on the poll.
Bush's most serious poll numbers, however, are not about job approval, but about the war itself and how we got into it.
A recent Quinnipiac University poll shows that 49 percent of the nation believes the White House deliberately misled the public about the war with only 46 percent believing the administration told "what it believed to be true."
According to Poll Track, "Four in 10 Quinnipiac respondents - - a plurality - - said they favored an immediate withdrawal from the country. Thirty-four percent were on the opposite end of the spectrum, saying they didn't want to set a pullout deadline at all; the rest of the respondents were sprinkled between withdrawal timetables from six months to three years."
In other words, Iraq is a tough sell. Nor is the White House able to control the national news agenda as White Houses once did
Three of the fours stories above the fold in the New York Times on Wednesday were: "Rice Is Challenged in Europe Over Secret Prisons," "Setback for U.S. In Terror Trial," and "Suicide Bombers Kill 36 Officers At Iraqi Academy."
Which is not to say there was no good news. In his speech, President Bush said of the Iraqi city of Najaf: "An elected provincial council is at work -- drafting plans to bring more tourism and commerce to the city."
You might want to check with your travel agent first.