“Iraq Is The Totality Of The Bush Legacy”…

Washington Post Peter Baker, Jim VandeHei December 28, 2005 at 11:44 PM
READ MORE: George W. Bush, Karl Rove, Iraq

President Bush shifted his rhetoric on Iraq in recent weeks after an intense debate among advisers about how to pull out of his political freefall, with senior adviser Karl Rove urging a campaign-style attack on critics while younger aides pushed for more candor about setbacks in the war, according to Republican strategists.

The result was a hybrid of the two approaches as Bush lashed out at war opponents in Congress, then turned to a humbler assessment of events on the ground in Iraq that included admissions about how some of his expectations had been frustrated. The formula helped Bush regain his political footing as record-low poll numbers began to rebound. Now his team is rethinking its approach to his second term in hopes of salvaging it.

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