A Lurid Look Behind the Curtain

Flashback

Here's Scott McClellan on September 29, 2003 denying Rove was involved.

Here he is on October 7, 2003, saying Libby wasn't involved either.

State of the Union

Here's the text of the speech. Here's a series of White House briefing papers.

Dan Balz writes in The Washington Post: "President Bush used his State of the Union address last night to try to revive his presidency against what may be the greatest odds any chief executive has faced in a generation."

But, Balz concludes: "Bush may have been speaking into the void."

Janet Hook writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Can this presidency be saved?

"That's the question that loomed Tuesday as President Bush gave his State of the Union speech in the most inhospitable climate he has ever faced for his annual address to Congress."

Her conclusion? "Bush's plans may be too modest to accomplish the broader challenge facing him. . . . Bush is trying to regain his footing while Iraq is littered with carnage, Democrats are calling the shots on Capitol Hill, senior members of his own party are openly questioning his Iraq policy, and a vast majority of the public is disenchanted with his leadership. . . .

"Even the parts of the speech that the White House touted as groundbreaking and bold were echoes of past speeches. Last year's State of the Union included plans to end the country's 'addiction to oil.' Bush's 2006 speech also had spotlighted another tax-break approach to improving medical coverage -- through tax-advantaged health savings accounts. Neither of those issues advanced even in a Congress controlled by Bush's own party."

And Bush's health-care proposal "has already been declared dead-on-arrival on Capitol Hill because it could hurt many who are now insured."

Marc Sandalow writes in the San Francisco Chronicle: "President Bush acknowledged the change in political order in the opening minute of his State of the Union address Tuesday with a gracious tribute to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, seated on the podium behind him.

"He then spent most of the next 49 minutes behaving as if the November election never happened.