A Very Slight Change in the Script

"Bush's aides said they have no illusion about quieting the demonstrators in Crawford, but they said the address was aimed at convincing a 'broader audience in the country' that 'this president recognizes the hardship of war and the sacrifices that are being made,' as one senior official put it."

Elisabeth Bumiller writes in the New York Times: "Mr. Bush made no mention of Cindy Sheehan, the mother of an American soldier slain in Iraq who has staged a protest outside the president's ranch and inspired antiwar vigils across the country. But Mr. Bush, in citing specific numbers of Americans killed . . . appeared to acknowledge to protesters that he understood the human cost of the battles. . . .

"Ms. Sheehan's supporters followed Mr. Bush to Salt Lake City, where more than 1,000 people staged an antiwar protest in Pioneer Park, not far from the Salt Palace Convention Center where Mr. Bush was speaking. A main speaker was Celeste Zappala of Philadelphia, a co-founder of the antiwar group Gold Star Families for Peace and the mother of a son who died in Iraq.

"In a telephone interview after the protest, Ms. Zappala said she disagreed with the president's view that the way to honor the Americans killed in Iraq was to continue to fight.

" 'It pains me to hear that more people should die because those people have died,' said Ms. Zappala. 'That makes no sense. We can honor them by having an intelligent, honest policy.' "

Peter Wallsten writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Speaking Monday to a friendly audience at the annual convention of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Bush offered a rare presidential tally of the fallen U.S. soldiers in Iraq -- more than 1,800 at the time of his appearance.

"Bush did not mention Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a slain soldier who has led the protests near his Texas vacation property. But his reference to the dead troops and their grieving families was an apparent acknowledgment that Sheehan and other parents allied with her have proven to be formidable foes in the battle for public opinion. . . .

"Further illustrating the conundrum for the administration, the death toll in Iraq had risen by the end of the day, surpassing the number Bush gave by at least five."

Not Lowering Expectations

There had been some speculation that the White House would start lowering expectations for success in Iraq, but yesterday's speech was a far cry from that.

"We will accept nothing less than total victory over the terrorists and their hateful ideology," Bush said.

Bush hadn't used the phrase "total victory" in the context of terror since lastOctober.

Framing

For one of the most obvious examples yet of how the White House is trying to frame the debate over the war in Iraq -- casting any opponent of the war as weak, cowardly and unpatriotic -- check out this response from spokesman Trent Duffy to a reporter's question in yesterday's abbreviated press gaggle: