Change Of Course?

"Bush has said the new government marks a new chapter in the U.S. relationship with Iraq. With Republicans worried about losing control of Congress in November's midterm elections and most Americans saying they would like some troops to come home, Bush is under pressure. Only a third of respondents to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll in early June supported Bush's handling of the situation -- an all-time low."

David E. Sanger and James Glanz write in the New York Times: "President Bush's two-day strategy session starting Monday at Camp David is intended to revive highly tangible efforts to shore up Iraq's new government, from getting the electricity back on in Baghdad to purging the security forces of revenge-seeking militias, White House officials said.

"Three years of efforts to accomplish those goals have largely failed. . . .

" 'One of the senior officials involved in the strategy session characterized it as a 'last, best chance to get this right,' an implicit acknowledgment that previous American-led efforts had gone astray.'"

Zachary A. Goldfarb writes in The Washington Post: "At Camp David, President Bush meets today with advisers to discuss the steps forward in Iraq. Tomorrow, he will have a video conference with the Iraqi cabinet. Bush may hold a news conference to tell Americans about the discussions. Finally, on Wednesday he chats with the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan assembly of longtime Washington figures whose goal is to deliver independent assessments of the situation in Iraq."

Here's Matt Lauer previewing the Camp David summit on NBC's Today Show: "People around the country are wondering are U.S. troops coming home anytime soon."

Bubble Watch

White House aides are trying to spin reporters right and left with stories about how Bush is suddenly way more open to alternate points of view.

Again: Is all this just more PR, or is it an augur of significant change? You decide.

Kenneth T. Walsh writes in U.S. News: "Suddenly, things are looking brighter for President Bush. The killing of insurgent leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in Iraq last week gave the administration a much-needed lift. The Republican victory in a high-profile special congressional election in California provided another bit of good news. . . .

"More broadly, Bush is building on his upward bounce by showing a new receptivity to fresh ideas and a willingness to change the way he does business. . . .

"White House officials say it's a sea change for this president to be surrounding himself with more independent thinkers.

"In another phase of their recovery campaign, Bush's strategists are, finally, providing behind-the-scenes glimpses of Bush's engagement in formulating policy. This is designed to counter the critics' image of the president as an intellectual lightweight. White House aides, for example, gave U.S. News a rare play-by-play of internal deliberations that led the president on May 31 to propose a new international initiative designed to persuade Iran to cease development of nuclear weapons."