Where's the Cowboy Talk Now?

Anderson Cooper interviewed David Gergen on CNN about Bush's response.

"COOPER: David, were you surprised the president said could be another Tet?

"DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR: Very surprised. As you know, Anderson, the administration for a long time now has been stoutly resisting every comparison of Iraq to Vietnam. And there's a good reason for them to reject that, because once people start accepting as the president did today, that what's going on in Iraq might be like what went on in Vietnam, it's not long.

"It's only a nanosecond before critics said, 'Yes, you're right. It's a quagmire in Iraq, just as it was in Vietnam.'"

The White House spin on all this is likely to focus on the suggestion that jihadists are stepping up their attacks for political effect -- to help the Democrats. But is there any evidence of that?

It's seems more likely, in fact, that the recent increase in violence is just the continuation of the trend toward total civil war.

For instance, Ellen Knickmeyer writes in The Washington Post from Baghdad that the unprecedented number of casualties "underscores both the surging nature of sectarian violence and the increasing lethality of roadside bombs, which claim the most American lives in Iraq despite efforts to bolster armor and use high-technology devices to disable bombs."

Iraq Watch

Bush also spoke more generally about Iraq in the ABC News interview.

Stephanopoulos: "Now, I know you don't think that Iraq is in the middle of a civil war right now."

Bush: "Right, right."

Stephanopoulos: "But whatever you call it, aren't American men and women now dying to prevent Sunnis and Shiites from killing each other?"

Bush: "No, I, George, I - it's dangerous. And you're right. No matter what you call it, the fundamental question is, are we on our way to achieving a goal, which is an Iraq that can defend itself, sustain itself and govern itself, and be an ally in the war on terror in the heart of the Middle East?"