No Questions

Anya Schmemann, a council spokeswoman, pointed out to me this morning: "We have plenty of other opportunities with other administration officials where council members can discuss issues openly and freely."

And indeed, just last week, for instance, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales spoke to council members in New York about terrorism -- and took questions. Here, from the transcript , is the very first one he got:

"QUESTIONER: Thank you. Alan Blinken, former United States ambassador to Belgium. You said the president has said clearly, 'We do not torture.' Was the vice -- two part question. One, was the vice president in the room when he said that -- (laughter) -- which I'm being serious about.

"[Council Chairman Peter G.] PETERSON: I told you this was a tough audience. (Laughter.)

"QUESTIONER: And two, would you state, as part of the administration, unequivocally tonight that the CIA and its surrogates, in whatever form they are, do not torture any place in the world?"

Gonzales's reply, in its entirety: "The president speaks for the administration. We all work for the president of the United States, including the vice president of the United States and including every member of the CIA."

Tomorrow's Topic

What precisely will Bush talk about tomorrow? Schmeman says that the White House hasn't been any more specific than to say that it will have something to do with the war on terror.

But White House spokesman Scott McClellan said on Friday that Bush would likely "focus more on some of the economic and reconstruction side of things" in his next speech.

What the Polls Mean

It's pretty clear that the American public isn't happy with Bush, and in particular isn't keen on his Iraq policy. But what exactly does the public want to see happen in Iraq?

The answers -- in a variety of polls -- have been inconsistent. But the reason for that could be that the questions have been inconsistent, too.

Mark Blumenthal , who blogs as the Mystery Pollster, recently posted a fascinating analysis of the Iraq poll results. He suggests that public assessments of the current situation are quite consistent, but that when it comes to prospective questions -- i.e., what should the government do now? -- the responses may have a lot to do with phrasing differences.

"For example, review the questions asked since Labor Day as posted by the Polling Report and you will find some highly consistent results: