A Blunt Bow to Postwar Realities (washingtonpost.com): "In abandoning his go-it-alone approach, however, the president did not give significant ground to allies who had opposed him at the time of the war and who want reassurances about greater political and economic influence in Iraq if they participate. His call for United Nations involvement was stated in declarative, not conciliatory, language. Members of the United Nations, he said, have 'the responsibility' to help, he said.
...he is on the defensive over Iraq now, just as he is on the defensive at home over the sluggish economy, which continues to shed jobs despite the latest infusion of tax cuts.
...Last night he handed a new bill to the country, a stunning $87 billion for the coming year to stabilize and begin to rebuild Iraq -- with a tiny portion of that earmarked for Afghanistan.
...Former Vermont governor Howard Dean said, "A 15-minute speech does not make up for 15 months of misleading the American people on why we should go to war against Iraq or 15 weeks of mismanaging the reconstruction effort since we have been there." Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), who strongly supported the war, was also skeptical, saying Bush had presented "a goal, not a plan" for winning the peace.
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- posted by geoff @ #