Bush to Acknowlege Mistakes, Tout Success in Iraq [View All]

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Bush to Acknowlege Mistakes, Tout Success in Iraq

White House Tries to Reiterate Case for the War as Anniversary Nears
Analysis
By JOHN COCHRAN

March 17, 2006 — - The White House knows the news media pays a lot of attention to anniversaries, and the third anniversary of the start of the Iraq War is no exception.

President Bush's aides also know some of that coverage, maybe a lot of it, will be negative. So, the White House has its own public relations offensive under way. First up is Bush's radio address on Saturday, then a speech to a nonpartisan group in Cleveland on Monday, the day after the anniversary. Another speech will follow on Wednesday. None of this effort may do the president any good in the polls, but as one adviser put it: "You gotta do something. You can't just sit there and let your opponents dominate news coverage of the war."

Several Republicans in Congress have complained recently that the Bush White House is tone deaf on a number of important political issues. But on the issue of Iraq, even Bush critics admit the president "gets it."


Pictures vs. Words

Time and again Bush has tried to persuade Americans that the war is not only winnable but also worth the costs of victory. The public, though, has been more impressed by what it sees on television. Republican pollsters say that until there is better news from Iraq, Bush's speeches may have little impact. In other words, they say, the old cliché is true: Aa picture is worth a 1,000 words, or maybe much more than that.

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http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/IraqCoverage/story?id=1739283&page=1