Bush Visits Hill to Reassure Republicans

But Bush's allies in Congress pronounced the meeting a success. Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), said: "He did what he had to do. He had to give members increased confidence about Iraq." As for reports of panic within GOP ranks, Portman said, "I honestly do not see it."

Several GOP lawmakers said there is predictable unease in their caucus about developments in Iraq, but not as much as there would be if more House members faced serious reelection challenges this fall.

"Most members are from pretty safe districts," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (Va.), "so there's no panic up here." From a partisan standpoint, he said, the biggest problem with the Iraq war is that "it suffocates everything else," such as news about an improving economy.

Back at the White House, Bush sat down for more than two hours to discuss the situation in Iraq with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command.

Bush had nothing to say in public about the difficulties facing his administration. In addition to the violence, the prison scandal and the rush to assemble an Iraqi government before June 30, onetime U.S. ally Ahmad Chalabi severed his ties with the Coalition Provisional Authority after U.S. and Iraqi authorities raided offices of his Iraqi National Congress. Also yesterday, the GOP-led House rejected a Bush plan for military base closings, and in the Senate, Republicans decided they did not have enough votes to pass the budget and delayed the vote till next month.

"Hi, everybody, good to see you," the president said as he walked briskly into the meeting, followed by political adviser Karl Rove and other aides. Afterwards, Sen. Trent Lott (Miss.), asked about Iraq, told reporters Bush "will talk to you about it." Seconds later, Bush rushed by, ignoring reporters' questions.

Bush left about 15 minutes to shake hands with his listeners. Though the White House press secretary described the session as a pre-recess briefing on "a number of important priorities that we're pursuing," the lawmakers acknowledged it was more about morale.

"The president wasn't there to educate," said Sen. John E. Sununu (N.H.), who said he had not learned anything new. Sen. Wayne Allard (Colo.), was more blunt. "It was a rally," he said. "November's not that far away."