I was honestly surprised to read this...
Quote:
Bush talks of changing tactics in Iraq
By Stewart Powell
George Bush has raised the possibility of altering US tactics in Iraq in a move that his campaign manager said showed a commander-in-chief willing to learn from setbacks.
The President tinkered with his re-election message as seven nationwide polls and the state-by-state electoral vote count showed him and his Democratic challenger, John Kerry, still locked in a virtual dead heat.
"A president must lead with consistency and strength in these troubling times," Mr Bush told supporters in Onalaska, Wisconsin. "In war, sometimes you change your tactics - but you never change your principles."
In Washington, Mr Bush's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, told reporters several hours later that "the goal is fixed [but] the tactics are flexible" in Iraq. Neither man detailed changes in the approach to Iraq, where about 1100 soldiers have died in combat in the past 19 months.
"The American people want a leader who is resolute in what he wants to accomplish and is flexible in working on how to accomplish it," Mr Mehlman said. "Ultimately what the American people want from their president is not some guy who lies on the couch and says 'Ooh,' but somebody who learns and adapts and changes based on what we learn."
Mr Mehlman conceded that Mr Bush may not sound consistent as he adapts his approach to changing circumstances, but said: "I think the American people are much more interested in what he has done for the country than in a particular answer to a question."
Senator Kerry said Mr Bush may be hiding more bad news about the invasion and occupation. He had "not offered a single word of explanation" about why US forces failed to secure 342 tonnes of high explosives that were looted by insurgents or prospective terrorists for potential use against GIs or in the US.
Nor had Mr Bush discussed his plan to seek at least $US70 billion ($94 billion) more early next year for Iraq and Afghanistan, to bring total costs of military operations in the two countries since 2001 to nearly $US225 billion.
"Mr President, what else are you being silent about?" Senator Kerry demanded at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin. "What else are you keeping from the American people?"
Meanwhile, the electoral battleground has unexpectedly expanded, with Democrats suddenly playing defensive in one stronghold, Hawaii, and some party strategists eyeing two other states that Senator Kerry had all but written off, West Virginia and Arkansas.
The flurry of interest in these states in the campaign's final week underscored not only how close the race remains but also the combatants' desire to test every opportunity and protect against every contingency.
A poll in The Honolulu Advertiser - showing Senator Kerry and Mr Bush tied - caught everyone by surprise and caused the Democratic National Committee to buy TV ads as a precaution.
Two independent liberal groups, the Media Fund and MoveOn.org's political action committee, also bought air time to help shore up a state that Al Gore won by 19 percentage points.
Bill Clinton, the former president, has for weeks implored the Kerry campaign not to give up on Arkansas, a state Mr Gore narrowly lost, and plans to campaign there on Sunday. In the past two weeks, two polls have shown the race in Arkansas statistically even.
West Virginia fell off the Kerry list of top-tier targets weeks ago. But one top Democrat said polling within the past week showed the race had narrowed to low single digits, prompting a reassessment.
Hearst Newspapers, The Washington Post
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REF:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/...667842419.html
Who would have thought it? Just a week before the election and Bush is changing tactics, or at least admitting he needs to change tactics, in Iraq. Whilst I applaud him for, eventually, admitting the obvious, I think this is a classic case of "flip-flopping"...
What that I hear the Republicans howl? That's not flip-flopping? Well, funny, because that's what most of the world has been telling you guys for months...
Mr Mephisto