White House Briefing

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com

The Increasingly Unpopular President

When President Bush says "polls go up, and polls go down," he's about half right. Two new public-opinion surveys show Bush's poll numbers are dropping into solidly negative territory.

And a Reality Check

"We'll support Iraqis as they take the lead in providing their own security. Our strategy is clear: We're training Iraqi forces so they can take the fight to the enemy, so they can defend their country. And then our troops will come home with the honor they have earned."
- George Bush

"I know the party line. You know, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army, five-star generals, four-star generals, President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld: The Iraqis will be ready in whatever time period. . . . But from the ground, I can say with certainty they won't be ready before I leave. And I know I'll be back in Iraq, probably in three or four years. And I don't think they'll be ready then."
- Lt. Kenrick Cato, training officer in Iraq

Downing Street Memo Watch

"... the Downing Street memo accurately foresees the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the administration's attempts to link Saddam to al-Qaida and weapons of mass destruction -- links that were found after the invasion not to exist. The memo's observation that U.S. intelligence would be shaped to policy might be mistaken, but the administration did wind up using flawed analysis to justify its war policy to the American people...."
- Houston Chronicle editorial

Cavuto Redux

" 'Is it any wonder that the President will sit down for an interview with Fox News?' one reporter asked at the Atlantic event last night. '[The White House] couldn't come up with easier questions themselves.' "
- Garrett M. Graff

Read the complete column here.. White House Briefing