Bush acts to rally public on Iraq war

From the start, the Iraq war has been a high-stakes venture. Now, with public opinion seeming to have shifted firmly against the decision to go in, Bush has ratcheted up the stakes yet again, making clear that his legacy as president rests on whether the war produces a successful outcome. His pitch has been highly personal, delivered with lots of first-person references that boil down to one phrase: "trust me."

Now, the public-relations battle could become even more difficult. More benchmarks remain to be fulfilled in Iraq - including the formation of a new government, following last Thursday's election results, and amending the Constitution - there are no firm dates around which to hang expectations or hail progress. In his presentations, Bush had hinted that US troop levels could be drawn down as progress is made, but he has resisted calls to issue a timetable.

Ultimately, political analysts say, public relations can go only so far in turning around public opposition to the Iraq war; events will do the talking.

"From now on, it's success on the ground, particularly the ability to draw down American troops," says John Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron. "To the extent that happens, the president's position may improve. To the extent that it doesn't happen, his position certainly won't get any better and it might actually get worse."

A subsidiary factor weighing heavily on the president is the dramatic decline this year in the public's view of his credibility. In July, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found the percentage of Americans who view Bush as "honest and straightforward" had fallen to 41 percent, down from 50 percent in January.

Bush's recent speeches on Iraq have shown more candor in discussing mistakes - and subsequent course corrections - than before. Bush has also made clear lately that he takes responsibility for the decision to go to war, even though the intelligence on the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq proved false.

But even as he has gone on the offensive to take his message straight to the American people, the latest revelation about wiretapping on US soil by one of the foreign intelligence agencies of the US, the NSA, has put him on the defensive. At first, the White House refused to confirm the existence of the secret program, citing national security concerns, then abruptly changed course on Saturday, when Bush acknowledged its existence.

By admitting to the plan, he could then lay out his rationale, defend the need to keep authorizing the program, and explain the ways in which he believes Congress is providing an adequate check on presidential power, even though the wiretaps are not receiving judicial approval.

"This program is carefully reviewed approximately every 45 days to ensure it is being used properly," Bush said at the press conference. "Leaders in the United States Congress have been briefed more than a dozen times on this program. And it has been effective in disrupting the enemy while safeguarding our civil liberties. This program has targeted those with known links to Al Qaeda."

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