Straying the Course

Bush goes on to tell Stephanopoulos that his strategy in Iraq has always been one of adaptation.

It seems the Bush administration has recently made a decision to abandon their "stay the course" rhetoric, in favor of something like "adjusting our tactics to meet the challenges on the ground." The reason: "stay the course" is only a quarter right, according to Bush.

The more likely reason for changing the strategic motto, however, is not that "stay the course" doesn't fully encapsulate Bush's master plan for the war but that the new rhetoric will more effectively persuade Americans that change is underway in Iraq.

While I hate to be pessimistic, I'm confident that nothing about the war, save its rhetoric, will actually change. For if Bush truly intended to abandon the "stay the course" strategy, then he would not have said in the same Stephanopoulos interview that, so long as he remains in office, nothing could trigger the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Oh, the power of rhetoric to change perception. But will it work?