There's something about Tony Snow's character that just makes Scott McClellan look good. I mean, you could at least tell that Scottie was uncomfortable telling lies for the Bush administration. Not Tony.
Q: Is there a change in the administration "stay the course" policy? Bartlett this morning said that wasn't ever the policy.
MR. SNOW: No, the policy -- because the idea of "stay the course" is you've done one thing, you kick back and wait for it. And this has always been a dynamic policy that is aimed at moving forward at all times on a number of fronts. And that would include the international diplomatic front. After all, the Iraq compact is something we worked out with the Iraqis before visiting the Prime Minister in Baghdad earlier this year.
So what you have is not "stay the course," but, in fact, a study in constant motion by the administration and by the Iraqi government, and, frankly, also by the enemy, because there are constant shifts, and you constantly have to adjust to what the other side is doing.
I think you also see much more aggressive efforts on the part of the Iraqi government because the Prime Minister understands the importance -- the vital importance of reconciliation. The third reconciliation conference will be taking place next -- is it next week, week after next -- on the 4th. He is working on the reconciliation front. There has been considerable, and continues to be, action on the economic front. And obviously, we're continuing to cooperate in security. That is not a "stay the course" policy.
But of course, we do have the record of three plus years of Bush stating that he is "staying the course" - damn you, internet! for your incessant monitoring! I like this WaPo article's spin:
But the White House is cutting and running from "stay the course." A phrase meant to connote steely resolve instead has become a symbol for being out of touch and rigid in the face of a war that seems to grow worse by the week, Republican strategists say. Democrats have now turned "stay the course" into an attack line in campaign commercials, and the Bush team is busy explaining that "stay the course" does not actually mean stay the course.
And meanwhile Gen. George Casey and Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad are working out details to get the Iraqi government on course through 2007. Why, it's almost as though they're planning to attempt to pull our troops out by the end of 2007... just like Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) suggested should happen a year ago. I know that must shock my colleagues on the right, that any thinking person might now see the reason behind... how did they phrase it... "adjusting our tactics."
Let's be clear - if all we're doing is maintaining the same level of forces and trying to play "whack-a-mole" with insurgent attacks in multiple cities, then we are not "adjusting to what the other side is doing." As Philip Carter notes, if we aren't pushing forces out into the cities under fire, getting our best troops to act as advisors to the Iraqi units, and seriously address the political and economic issues in Iraq, then we're not going be successful.
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