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Iraq by Any Other Name . . . Susan Estrich The president has changed his wording on the war in Iraq. He's no longer "staying the course."
"It left the wrong impression about what was going on," the White House press secretary, and my old friend, Tony Snow said. "And it allowed critics to say, 'Well, here's an administration that's just embarked upon a policy of not looking at what the situation is,' when, in fact, it's just the opposite." So instead of "staying the course," the administration is "flexible" and "dynamic" and all about "winning." There's a new talking points memo going around, which I'm sure includes all the best words to use to describe a war that's out of control. The new words describe a country divided by sectarian violence, toppling on the edge of chaos, in the bloodiest month in two years — words like "dynamic" and "flexible" and "winning." To reflect the change in wording and the new strategy and all, in addition to the briefing, the president's White House counselor went on every morning talk show to stress that the president's new words meant there was a new policy of flexibility and winning, as opposed to just staying the course, which the president hadn't even said for two months, in case you hadn't noticed. Story Continues Below
At the same time, there was a statement out of Iraq saying they were coming up with a new timetable over there that would allow the Iraqis to take charge of everything. Of course, they'd be able to restore order where we couldn't, the civil war would end, we'd declare victory again, say, in 12 months, given as we were 75 percent of the way there — no details given.
Timetable is probably a word that generally tests well. People think it's concrete. But like so much, it depends on context. In the context of this war, it's just a word.
Being a born-and-raised political pessimist and having more than enough elections to prove me right, I won't believe it until it's over, but polls to date offer no evidence that the country is giving the president credit for much of anything good, no matter how he words it. The president's numbers on Iraq and the war are awful, with two-thirds of the country saying the war is going poorly and giving the president fair or poor grades for his handling of it.
The sight of his well-intentioned spin-meisters trying to grease the sale only makes it worse. There was a time when it was considered brilliant to come up with the right words. This was what was known as doing politics. Because Republicans were better at doing it than Democrats, they were declared geniuses; and Democrats, fools. Perhaps accurately, in a narrow sense.
This time more than words are required. There are too many other words and too many pictures. The White House doesn't control the words the way it once did.
The disaffection between the president and the country right now is so deep that he will have to get his head handed to him, which may indeed be what is about to happen, to have any chance of a comeback.
But that is still two weeks away, a lifetime away, politically speaking.
For now, the president has not given up. For now, he is still focused on winning, and so long as he is, he is still destined to lose. In more ways than one.
Speaking of words. Obama . . . I just heard the name. And suddenly that name will never be the same to me. Seriously, more on this later; but right now if anyone was filling the hopes and dreams of every Democrat who doesn't want Hillary or is afraid she can't win, or who just wants a real change… He's the vessel. The question is whether the real person is big enough to fill the vacuum that is there. From what I've heard . . . Whew.
COPYRIGHT 2006 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC. Editor's note:
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