White House Watch: Bush emotional at Fort Bragg
Why did President Bush get so emotional at the end of his prime-time speech on Iraq Tuesday night? His senior advisers tell U.S. News and the Bulletin that he nearly "choked up" when he looked out over the several hundred troops in the audience at Fort Bragg, N.C., and that the memory flashed into his mind of his three-hour visit with families of fallen soldiers that had ended just an hour before he began his address. "He was emotionally drained," says a senior Bush adviser. Bush had an hour to gather himself together in a private holding room, but thoughts about the families flooded back at the end of his speech. He told an aide a bit later, "It's tough, but man, the strength of these people!" The president was still wearing a bracelet given to him by the wife of a soldier who had died in Iraq.
Bush will offer Africa initiative to start G-8 on a high note
President Bush is looking forward to the Group of Eight economic summit in Scotland next week, and his announcement this week of a big package of initiatives for Africa was designed in part to start the conference on a high note. The initiatives, including measures to promote the education of girls in Africa and $1.2 billion to fight malaria, are in part a response to British Prime Minister Tony Blair's calls for more African relief. The conference brings together the leaders of the world's seven richest industrialized democracies and Russia every year. A senior U.S. official told U.S. News: "The president is eager for the discussions, and he will have a good story to tell" about U.S. efforts to help less fortunate countries. Bush also intends to discuss Mideast peace prospects, the progress of the Iraq war, and global economic conditions. "And he likes the interaction with the other leaders," says the senior official.
White House tuning connection between Saddam and 9/11
White House aides are trying to fine-tune a point about 9/11 that President Bush made in his prime-time speech this week about Iraq that has been roundly criticized ever since. He wasn't arguing that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the terrorist attacks of September 11 but making a broader point, the aides tell U.S. News and the Bulletin. "He's not suggesting that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11 plot itself," says a senior U.S. official. "But the ideology that moved the people behind 9/11 is the same ideology of the people fighting us in Iraq." Still, White House aides insist the president didn't make a mistake in his speech. They say Bush's critics are unfairly jumping on his remarks to undermine support for his policies.
White House officials also say that President Bush's address apparently went over well with those who watched but that he will continue to defend his Iraq policies. "We're pleased," a senior White House official told U.S. News and the Bulletin, "but we've been at this a while, and there are going to be rough days when the brutality of the situation is in the news. The public will continue to look to the commander in chief for reassurance. The itch they want scratched is 'Is it worth it?' We believe the vast majority of Americans understand the consequences of failure and the consequences of retreat." To that end, Bush is expected to continue making his stay-the-course argument in his weekly radio address and in his Fourth of July speech. Beyond that, he plans other speeches in July and August making the case that the war is important to win and that America and its allies are prevailing.
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