Bush's Triumphalist Amnesia

"Because the money for the war is being borrowed, interest payments could add another $615 billion. A heavily depleted military will have to be rebuilt at a cost of $280 billion. Disability benefits and health care for Iraq war veterans, many of them severely injured, could add another half-trillion dollars over their lifetime. . . .

"The price tag in Iraq now is more than double the cost of the Korean War and a third more expensive than the Vietnam War, which lasted 12 years. . . .

"Only World War II was more expensive. That four-year war - in which 16 million U.S. troops were deployed on two fronts, fighting against Germany and Japan - cost about $5 trillion in inflation-adjusted dollars."

In his speech today, Bush finally addressed the various cost estimates: "War critics can no longer credibly argue that we are losing in Iraq -- so now they argue the war costs too much. In recent months we have heard exaggerated estimates of the costs of this war," he said. "No one would argue that this war has not come at a high cost in lives and treasure -- but those costs are necessary when we consider the cost of a strategic victory for our enemies in Iraq."

Meanwhile in Iraq

Erica Goode and Ahmed Fadam write in the New York Times from Baghdad: "It was billed as a national 'dialogue' that would bring Iraq's disparate and warring factions together to discuss their differences and emerge with a blueprint for peaceful coexistence.

"But if the national reconciliation conference held here on Tuesday revealed anything, it was that the deep political and religious fissures that run through this battered country are nowhere close to healing.

"Three of the most important political blocs boycotted the conference.

"Few, if any, prominent Baathists, militia members or representatives of the insurgency -- the groups that many believe represent the largest obstacles to reconciliation -- showed up at the meeting.

"And a prominent tribal leader stormed out of the auditorium after the opening speeches and threatened to leave the conference altogether."

Cheney Locking Things In

Cheney's mission in Iraq is coming into focus.

Deb Riechmann writes for the Associated Press: "Vice President Dick Cheney played the part of backroom power broker for two days and came away on Tuesday with pledges from Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds to firm up a new blueprint for U.S.-Iraq relations that will stretch beyond the Bush presidency."

Riechmann writes that Cheney was "crafting a long-term agreement between the U.S. and Iraq, plus a narrower deal to define the legal basis for continued U.S. troop presence.

"The deal would take the place of a U.N. Security Council resolution that expires in December, the same time Bush will be packing up to leave office. The administration says the deal will not seek permanent U.S. bases in Iraq or codify troop levels, nor tie the hands of a future commander in chief as some Democrats fear

"Administration officials say they probably will not seek Senate approval of the plan because the agreement will not be a treaty that provides Iraq with specific security guarantees. This position has prompted a backlash in Congress, where Democrats have proposed legislation that would render the agreement null and void without the Senate's blessing.

"Democrats and some Republicans have questioned whether the 2002 authorization of force in Iraq still applies legally because it referred to the need to get rid of Saddam Hussein and eliminate the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Since the 2003 invasion, Hussein has been captured and executed, and no weapons of mass destruction were ever found."

Once his work was done, Cheney kicked back. Writes Riechmann: "Vice President Dick Cheney went fishing in the waters between Oman and Iran on Wednesday, borrowing the Sultan of Oman's 60-foot royal yacht for the mission.

"A Cheney spokeswoman said the vice president, his wife Lynne, and daughter, Liz, a former State Department official who is traveling with her father as a private citizen, headed out under sunny skies into the Gulf of Oman on 'Kingfish I,' owned by Sultan Qaboos bin Said."

The Economic Long Run

Edmund L. Andrews writes in the New York Times: "On Tuesday . . . Mr. Bush continued to act as cheerleader in chief by emphasizing the economy's underlying strength.

"'I understand there's short-term difficulty,' he told workers and local lawmakers in Jacksonville, Fla. 'But I want people to understand that in the long term, we're going to be just fine. People will still be able to work.'

"Without offering any details, Mr. Bush said the government would do more if necessary. 'The point I want to make to you is, if there needs to be further action we'll take it -- in a way that does not damage the long-term health of our economy.'"

Of course as legendary economist John Maynard Keynes famously said: "In the long run we are all dead."

Movement on Housing?

Michael M. Phillips, Damian Paletta and Sarah Lueck write in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required): "The Bush administration and congressional Democrats have begun negotiations over a plan designed to stave off hundreds of thousands of home foreclosures.

"After months of stalemate -- and a week of financial turmoil sparked in part by the housing crisis -- the White House signaled yesterday that President Bush is open to compromise with Democrats, who want more federal action. Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.) said his aides are holding discussions with Treasury Department officials. . . .

"Under the plan introduced by Mr. Frank, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, financial institutions would have to take a loss by forgiving some of the remaining principal on home loans in order to make them more affordable for distressed borrowers. In return, the lenders would get federal backing for hundreds of billions of dollars in new mortgages. . .

"The White House's position represents a shift in tone. For weeks, the president and his economic team, led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, have rejected proposals that would have further exposed the government to the housing market."

E-Mail Watch

Pete Yost writes for the Associated Press: "A federal court on Tuesday gave White House officials three days to explain why they should not be required to make copies of all e-mails on computers in the Executive Office of the President.

"In a three-page order, U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola expressed concern that a large volume of electronic messages may be missing from White House computer servers. That's the allegation made by two private groups that are suing the White House.

"Facciola's proposal would require the White House to make copies of all e-mails from the period of March 2003 to October 2005."

The latest White House position is that whatever e-mails are missing are probably recoverable, and it says its own exploration of how to proceed is still under way. See my Feb. 27 column for background.

Writes Yost: "'The court finds the White House's defenses as incredible as we do and is trying to come up with a way to preserve what might be left,' said Meredith Fuchs, general counsel of the National Security Archive at George Washington University, which had asked the judge to act.

"Regarding Facciola's latest move, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said 'we have received the order, are reviewing it and will respond appropriately.'"

Subsidizing Bush's Fundraisers

James Gerstenzang writes in the Los Angeles Times: "On Tuesday, President Bush was in Jacksonville, where he talked about free trade with dockworkers. That was the official reason for the day trip.

"But the event was sandwiched between two unofficial reasons: a luncheon in Jacksonville, where 51 people contributed $685,500 to the Republican National Committee, and a reception in Palm Beach, where 49 guests were expected to donate $762,000 to the party's main bank account. . . .

"By dividing the president's time between political and official events, White House schedulers maximize the benefit to the party's accounts, because taxpayers pick up part of the expensive cost of his travel -- much of which would be paid by the beneficiaries of the fundraising event if the trip were entirely political. . . .

"For a president whose approval rating hovers around 30% and shows no sign of budging, traversing the country with his hand out may be the biggest contribution he can make to his party and its candidates. And so far this election year, the president has demonstrated his value with a concerted, nearly weekly collection drive, bringing in a half million dollars here, a million dollars there from party stalwarts.

"In 11 weeks, Bush has spoken at 11 Republican fundraising events, which have brought in at least $27 million -- a pace of $346,000 per day including Tuesday's two events."

Key Job Remains Unfilled

Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball write for Newsweek: "The failure to find a successor to Frances Fragos Townsend, who resigned last January as assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, has frustrated White House aides, given the significance the Bush administration has attached to the job. The position involves coordinating antiterrorism and homeland security efforts throughout the government and chairing the Homeland Security Council, a domestic counterpart to the National Security Council that President Bush created after the September 11 attacks.

"Among those who have turned down the job--or made clear they weren't interested in replacing Townsend--are retired Army Gen. John Abizaid, former chief of U.S. Central Command, and retired Adm. James Loy, former Coast Guard commandant and deputy homeland security secretary, according to three sources knowledgeable about the issue who, like others quoted in this article, asked for anonymity when discussing White House personnel moves. (Neither Abizaid nor Loy responded to requests for comment.) The sources said most of the top candidates the White House contacted expressed little interest in signing on so close to the end of President Bush's second term. 'It's a friggin' embarrassment,' said one source who is involved in the recruitment process. The source noted that Townsend announced her resignation last November but didn't leave the post until January--in part to give the president plenty of time to find a replacement."

Late Night Humor

David Letterman, via U.S. News: "Vice President Dick Cheney. You know where he is right now? He's in Baghdad. He visited there. While he was in Iraq, he said it's a 'successful endeavor.' At least I think that's what he said. It was hard to hear over the explosions."