Bush's Tuesday speech: preview and response

Here is a good roundup of related press items.  The grapevine says to look for the President to include a line about how fixing Iraq is hard work.  If history is a guide, expect him to also use the words terrorists, democracy and freedom in various combinations.  The president may even try to connect the Iraq War with the response to 9/11 again, but I don't think so after Rove's recent remarks made that a hot button issue.  Here is a likely snippet from the speech:

The road ahead is tough, and the casualties weigh on him personally, but the US must press ahead. Iraq is moving forward with a new constitution and national elections. Setting a timetable for US withdrawal would only aid the enemy. . . .

Don't expect to hear any ideas on how to end the insurgency.  Don't hold your breath waiting for an admission that it is so obvious we are actually losing that we are "secretly" negotiating with terrorists, even though that is now common knowledge.  (link)

All the president can do is paint the situation as positively as possible and say the manly thing to do is stay the course instead of wimping out.  As a response to that, we need to point out that "discretion is the better part of valor" and that there is a point beyond which refusing to change tactics is stupid instead of brave.  We must insist that the president either come up with better strategy or seriously consider a tactical withdrawal.  And he has no new strategy.  

At the very least, we must confront the president with the truth that we are losing in Iraq, which he will not easily admit.  Even better is to get Republicans to confront him with that truth as Hagel recently did.