Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia, said Monday that it was a tough decision for the network bosses.

\"On the one hand, they recognize if the president actually is going to make substantial news on Iraq, they probably should cover it,\" Sabato said. \"But on the other hand, they realize this White House is famous for constructing political rallies and convincing the networks to cover them with the sole beneficiary being the president, not the American people.\"

So what should the president say tonight? The first thing he should do is tell the truth to the American people. Happy talk about the insurgency being in \"the last throes\" leads to frustrated expectations at home.  

Torgauer:
Remember the world before cable when you either had to watch the President of resort to bad UHF reception.

msully:
No call to enlist?    :confused:  

PewterPirate:
When do facts define the truth with the Bush Administration?  Bush continues to hope that if he says a lie 4 times it becomes the truth.

illini n milwaukee:
 Earlier this week when John McCain asked the general testifying in front of the Senate how many Iraqi troops were trained, he REFUSED to answer, saying it was classified!  

swiminbuff:
Speech was apparently successful according to CNN Poll. Majority of Americans now believe the US is winning the war (up 10%)and also belive the President has a clear plan.

puckman1:
Yeah, and I would bet that most of the people they polled were Repugs. too.

The poll was taken immediately after the speech, and the 323 adults interviewed were 50 percent Republican, 23 percent Democratic and 27 percent independent. The margin of error was plus or minus 6 percentage points.

gmginsfo:
Keep waiting, Mr. Bobby.  

Ms. de Blazer
Did he say as Patrick Henry did that he pledges his life, his fortune and his sacred honor?

After his death, Osama bin Laden went to Heaven.

There he was greeted by George Washington, who proceeded to slap him across the face and yell at him, \"how dare you try to destroy the nation I helped conceive!\"

Patrick Henry approached and punched Osama in the nose and shouted, \"you wanted to end our liberties, but you failed.\"

James Madison entered, kicked Osama in the groin and said, \"this is why I allowed our government to provide for the common defense!\"

Thomas Jefferson came in and proceeded to beat Osama many times with a long cane and said, \"it was evil men like you that provided me the inspiration to pen the Declaration of Independence!\"

These beatings and thrashings continued as John Randolph, James Monroe and 66 other early Americans came in and unleashed their anger on the Muslim terrorist leader. As Osama lay bleeding and writhing in unbearable pain an angel appeared. Bin Laden wept in pain and said to the angel, \"this isn't what you promised.\"

The angel replied, \"I told you there would be seventy-two Virginians waiting for you in heaven. What did you think I said?\"

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

aquaman:
I heard that both Dennis Hastert and Tom Delay accused the Democrats of politicizing 9/11 after condemning Bush's pep rally last night.

Dear Bobby,

Last night the President had a chance to move the country forward by laying out a specific course of action to make our troops safer and rescue the mission in Iraq.

Instead, the President took us backwards -- backwards to campaign style rhetoric and unshakeable stubbornness.

Let me be clear about something. I've never met an American who doesn't want to see America succeed in Iraq. I've never met a veteran who doesn't fly the flag on the 4th of July with pride in our country. I've never met an American who doesn't believe in the greatness of our country and the strength of our ideals.

But I've met a lot of Americans who fear the President has no plan to get it right in Iraq -- and they woke up this morning feeling the same way.

The President and the administration need to get their story straight about what is happening in Iraq -- and how they are going to get our mission back on track.

From their 24th different rationale for war, to the Vice President and Secretary Rumsfeld telling us the insurgency is in its \"final throes\" while last night President Bush said it is more dangerous than ever, Americans just want to hear the truth.

They want leadership equal to our soldiers' sacrifice, and they know we can't win if our leaders can't even agree on the facts. This is a time for leadership, and a time for responsible answers to difficult problems.

Yesterday, I laid out a 9 point plan to get it right in Iraq. Here are 3 steps the President can take this weekend to start getting it right in Iraq and ensure greater security for our troops.


1) The President heads to Europe this weekend. He needs to bring home more commitments from our allies to shore up Iraq's borders, invest more in reconstruction and do more training of Iraqi troops. A secure and stable Iraq is in the best interest of every nation across Europe and the Middle East.

2) Send a message across the Middle East that Iraq's neighbor countries must do more to stop the rise of terrorism in Iraq. We need countries like Saudi Arabia to keep their commitment to help pay for reconstruction efforts in Iraq so the Iraqi people get electricity, water and better roads.

We also need help from Iraq's neighbors in shoring up the borders so foreign fighters and terrorists can't get in and can't get out. The President needs to take his tough message to the region and enlist support for our mission. The best way to stop the growth of terrorism is by enlisting more Arab allies.

3) Truly honor our troops' sacrifices in Iraq by immediately covering the one billion dollar shortfall in funding for veterans care this year here at home and increasing funding for armor and necessary supplies for our troops over in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Senator Byrd, Senator Murray, I and others have an amendment pending right now to address the critical funding shortage for veterans. The administration could send a powerful message about sacrifice and national unity if they act now to address this shortfall for the VA.

We need more than just words to get it right in Iraq. We need actions and focus and leadership. We saw what happened after 9/11, in the mountains of Tora Bora, when the administration took its eyes off the ball when it came to hunting down and capturing Osama Bin Laden. We can't afford to let the same thing happen in Iraq.

Our troops are depending on us and we can't let them down. It's time to bring the country together to get it right. No more excuses, no more spin, and no more dividing the country on partisan lines.

Americans have the resolve - we need action from the administration.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

msully:
Lord - Bush's speech was bad enough, but do we need another Kerry 'plan'?

ITJock:
As much as I dislike Kerry (almost half as much as I dislike Shrub)...

At least he has a plan; and a clue...

And I really hate to admit it, but he is right.

Rob

so fla ref:
What I wanted to hear from him last night would have been something like this:  \"We have made some mistakes.  But it is critical that this mission succeed.  Here's what we're going to do.\"

so fla ref:
He could re-establish credibility abroad by approaching NATO, as Sen. Biden suggests, to enlist their help in finally securing the borders...

Live coverage of Bush's half-hour speech Tuesday night from the Ft. Bragg military base in North Carolina averaged 23 million viewers combined on four major U.S. broadcast networks and three leading cable news channels, Nielsen said.

Designed largely to bolster sagging public support for the persistently bloody conflict in Iraq, the speech fell 8.6 million viewers shy of Bush's previous low as president, his August 9, 2001 address on stem cell research, which was carried on six networks.

must now be successful in Iraq.