The Heart of the Matter

"'I believe we'll prevail,' he said. 'I understand how hard it is to prevail. But I also want the American people to understand that if we were to fail . . . that failed policy will come to hurt generations of Americans in the future.'"

Deb Riechmann writes for the Associated Press: "When he received his own copy of the Iraq Study Group report, President Bush praised the subtitle, 'The way forward -- a new approach.' On Thursday, it was clear he had added the phrase to his lexicon. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair used 'forward' or 'way forward' about two dozen times during their news conference about the war and problems in the Middle East."

From a Los Angeles Times editorial on Bush's repeated description of the report as "important": "Oh well. At least the Iraq Study Group had one 24-hour news cycle before it was dismissed as 'important.' In Washington, importance is the last stop before irrelevance; it's a graceful way to offer praise without support. On that score, there is reason for more than just the members of the group to be worried. The president and the prime minister used the word 46 times in 53 minutes, including to describe the goal of eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops and the need to be engaged on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

"Semantics aside, Bush's performance Thursday was depressing. He turned truculent when pressed to describe the situation on the ground ('It's bad in Iraq. Does that help?') and was irritatingly simplistic explaining his rationale for staying there ('I wouldn't have our troops in harm's way if I didn't believe that, one, it was important, and, two, we'll succeed'). His opening remarks included the usual airy rhetoric about creating a beacon of democracy in the Middle East and ominous yet vague references to 'the forces of terror and extremism.' For minutes at a time, the conference sounded like it could have been taking place in 2003."

Opinion Watch

Eugene Robinson writes in his Washington Post opinion column: "The Decider isn't in the habit of letting mere facts get in the way of blind conviction."

Lawrence B. Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, writes in a New York Daily News opinion column: "Even if [the report's] recommendations are spot-on, even if the president accepted every detail, there is not the requisite diplomatic skill and expertise within this national leadership to pull it off.

"Not to mention that one of its key members, the vice president and his staff, are adamantly opposed to even making the effort. . . .

"How to circumvent him and his minions? It seems an impossible undertaking. With 88 people working directly for him on his own personal staff -- an unprecedented number -- and others strategically placed throughout the federal bureaucracy, Cheney is a formidable force. Isolated by the president or not, he can still wreak havoc, for example, with any attempt to empower Secretary of State Rice to conduct meaningful diplomacy in the region."

On Talking

Bush certainly has an odd concept of what "conversation" means.

"It's really interesting to talk about conversations with countries -- which is fine; I can understand why people speculate about it -- but there should be no mistake in anybody's mind, these countries understand our position. They know what's expected of them," he said.

"There is -- if we were to have a conversation, it would be this one, to Syria: Stop destabilizing the Siniora government. We believe that the Siniora government should be supported, not weakened. Stop allowing money and arms to cross your border into Iraq. Don't provide safe haven for terrorist groups. We've made that position very clear."

Isn't the whole point of having a conversation that it goes both ways?

Poll Watch

Nancy Benac writes for the Associated Press: "Americans are overwhelmingly resigned to something less than clear-cut victory in

Iraq and growing numbers doubt the country will achieve a stable, democratic government no matter how the U.S. gets out, according to an AP poll.

"At the same time, dissatisfaction with President Bush's handling of Iraq has climbed to an all-time high of 71 percent. The latest AP-Ipsos poll, taken as a bipartisan commission was releasing its recommendations for a new course in Iraq, found that just 27 percent of Americans approved of Bush's handling of Iraq, down from his previous low of 31 percent in November."

Does the White House care about such polls?

George Stephanopoulos says on ABC this morning: "They have to care, because the president's going to try to get support for his change in strategy . . . and with poll numbers like this, it's going to be tough."

Those Enormous Supplementals

Bryan Bender writes in the Boston Globe: "In a little-noticed section of its report, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group lambasted the method the Bush Administration has used to pay for the Iraq war, saying its reliance on 'emergency' budgeting procedures has circumvented congressional oversight and led to billions of taxpayer dollars spent on extras and pet projects not directly related to the war.

"The White House early next year plans to send Congress its largest supplemental spending request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since the budgeting practice began in 2001. The total figure is still being worked out, but congressional officials have been told it could be as much as $160 billion -- the vast majority to be spent on Iraq. . . .

"Members of Congress have repeatedly called on the White House to use the traditional budget process to pay for the war. Sen. John McCain Republican of Arizona, and Sen. Robert Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, co-authored legislation requiring the war funding to be routed through the normal federal budget process. . . .

"Bush signed the defense bill containing the McCain-Byrd amendment this fall, but he later issued a 'signing statement' asserting he has the power as commander-in-chief to ignore the budgeting law."

Medal of Freedom Watch

The Associated Press reports: "President Bush on Thursday announced the recipients of this year's Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award."

Among the recipients: blues singer and guitarist B.B. King and historian David McCullough.

Here's the full White House list.

And no, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld isn't getting one. So there's no reason to even bring up the 2004 event, when Bush presented the medal to Gen. Tommy Franks, former CIA director George Tenet and former Iraq proconsul L. Paul Bremer.

Mary Cheney's Pregnancy

Ruth Marcus writes in her Washington Post opinion column about the news that Mary Cheney, the vice president's lesbian daughter, is pregnant.

"[W]hether she intends it or not, her pregnancy will, I think, turn out to be a watershed in public understanding and acceptance of the phenomenon. This is the Ellen DeGeneres moment of national politics. . . .

"Perhaps Cheney's high-profile pregnancy will help the Republican Party come to grips with [gay marriage]. If not, though, she's going to have to explain to her child what mommy was doing trying to help a party that doesn't believe in fairness for families like theirs."

Oh Christmas Tree

Ben Feller writes for the Associated Press: "In traditional fashion, President Bush presided over the lighting of the national Christmas tree Thursday by asking the country to remember and honor its troops."

Here are Bush's remarks celebrating the "Christmas Pageant of Peace."

Happy BarneyCam!

What would the holiday season be like without a BarneyCam movie? Thank goodness, we don't have to find out yet.

The fifth annual Barney holiday video is out, entitled " Barney's Holiday Extravaganza." You can find links to the previous four here.

This one's a bit listless, I'm afraid, in spite of the appearances by the president, the first lady, Dolly Parton and Emmitt Smith.

The highlights: Karl Rove and Tony Snow contributing breakout performances (they're natural actors); and Barney's attempt to take over the under-construction briefing room for his holiday extravaganza. "You can't have the press room, okay? It will really tick them off," Snow tells the dog, eliciting a growl.

Cartoon Watch

Tom Toles on the Iraq Study Group report.

Froomkin on the Radio

I'll be on Washington Post Radio today shortly after 2 p.m. ET.