White House Counselor Challenges Democrats on Immigration Bill

Asked to explain, he added, "After a careful review of what the attorney general said then and based on the disclosure we're seeing now, that what he said was consistent and accurate."

With Congress moving this week toward passage of an Iraq war funding bill that Bush appears likely to sign, Bartlett turned to the future clashes with Democrats and some Republicans in Congress over the fate of the administration's Iraq policy and acknowledged that the clock is ticking faster in Washington than in Baghdad.

"What the president recognizes is to have more time on the Washington clock, we have to make more progress in Baghdad," he said. "And that's where the focus will be over the next three months."

Even Republicans who have backed the administration in the funding debate have warned that, by September, they expect to see significant progress in Iraq if they are to continue supporting the president. Bartlett said Bush recognizes the growing pressure for signs of success and pointed to a September report from Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker as a critically important marker.

"We ought to give them time to make it work," he said. "After a couple of months you will have an ability to say what direction it is going in."

Although the war has deeply divided the country, Bartlett said it was noteworthy that none of the leading Republican presidential candidates has broken with the president's policy. He ascribed their loyalty to the fact that the president and the policy remain popular with Republicans who will be voting in next year's primaries and caucuses.

But he also said it will be "natural" for those Republicans running to succeed Bush to seek ways to differentiate themselves from the incumbent as the campaign progresses.

"The president is totally understanding of that," said Bartlett. "He's been around the block a few times."