It's just about the only thing Bush didn't do last night to take attention away from the debacle in Iraq.
What a wonderfully ironic picture it was; Bush on the dais looking mildly dazed, Darth Cheney over his right shoulder scowling like mad and trying to keep his mind-meld with his putative boss, and over Bush's left shoulder - "Madame Speaker" - Nancy Pelosi, looking dignified and clearly enjoying herself. From the occasional wry smile it was obvious the irony didn't escape her.
Yet it wasn't until two thirds of the way or more through his speech, after dangling several shiny attempts at bipartisanship before Congress, did he dare mention Iraq. He raised all of the usual scare points he's used before, 9-11, al Qaeda, nucular weapons - although this time in Iran, not Iraq - but he did so rather mechanically; as though someone told him that he must. But his heart just wasn't in it.
There was nothing new here. One more time that this failed President had to ask us to just trust him. Why, given the polling data, he would think for an instant we would is beyond me. But given his sullen performance last night, especially in regards to his New Way Forward (Staying the Course Part IV), maybe he knew we wouldn't and was just going through the motions.
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