Rove's Risky Embrace

"A senior adviser to Mr. Bush said the White House had concluded that it was better to plunge aggressively into the debate on Iraq than to let Democrats play upon clear, public misgivings about the war. 'This is going to be a big issue in this election,' said the adviser, who was granted anonymity in exchange for agreeing to describe strategic considerations about the war. 'Better to shape and fight it -- as good and strongly as you can -- than to try to run away from it.' "

Absurd!

Well, it's doubtful President Bush changed anyone's mind in Vienna yesterday, but maybe he felt better afterward.

Kenneth R. Bazinet writes in the New York Daily News: "With thousands of anti-American protesters crowding Vienna's streets, an irked President Bush snapped yesterday at a suggestion U.S. foreign policy has become a threat to global security.

" 'That's absurd,' Bush barked at an Austrian reporter during a press conference with European Union President and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel.

" 'We'll defend ourselves, but at the same time, we're actively working with our partners to spread peace and democracy. . . . It's an absurd statement.' "

Here's the transcript of the press conference in Vienna.

James Gerstenzang and Alissa J. Rubin write in the Los Angeles Times: "With surveys showing a growing animosity in Europe toward the United States amid fears that its anti-terrorism policies and the Iraq war are endangering global stability, the president lashed out during a news conference, raising his voice and several times using the word 'absurd' to describe the criticism."

Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes in the New York Times: "His remarks on the war were not very different than what he had said before. But the vigor of his defense, coming at a time when he is trying to repair frayed relations with Europeans and has joined them in trying to negotiate a peaceful end to Iran's nuclear program, underscored how fragile those relations remain."

In fact, Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey write for Newsweek: "Bush's public-relations problems back home are nothing compared to his unpopularity here in Europe. Ahead of Bush's whirlwind visit to Vienna -- where he is meeting with leaders of the European Union -- and Hungary, recent surveys show disdain for Bush and Americans in general are at all-time highs. A survey released last week by the Pew Research Center found that, with the exception of Great Britain, a majority of Europeans polled have a mostly unfavorable view of the United States.

"Yet it's more than just simple dislike. A Harris Interactive/Financial Times survey released Monday found that 36 percent of Europeans view the United States as the world's greatest threat to 'global stability.' By comparison, 30 percent of those polled named Iran as the biggest threat, while 18 percent named China. . . .

"Why do Americans have such a bad rap in Europe? While a significant percentage of people continue to oppose the war in Iraq, the outrage seems more centered these days on other developments, including incidents of prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, charges of a civilian massacre in Haditha and the 'renditions' of terror suspects to secret CIA prisons to countries outside the United States.

"There has been particular outrage at the continued operation of Guant?namo Bay -- a topic that was front and center during Bush's summit with EU officials on Wednesday."