Thoughts on President Bush's Speech Announcing New Iraq Strategy

The build-up to President Bush's speech last night created a genuine sense of drama and significance surrounding this act of prime-time political communication. Just prior to and during the White House address, one could feel an inescapable gravity, a feeling that the entire Iraq situation was approaching a crucial moment. Much of the speech's substance had already been leaked, so the changes in policy announced were not surprising and had been debated throughout the day. This post will address two more peripheral, but telling, aspects of the speech.



I was surprised by the choice of White House venue--the first floor Library. As the setting for such a major address, the room was fairly nondescript and lacked the authority and comforting familiarity of the Oval Office. Bush stood somewhat stiffly in front of some bookshelves, near what looked like a cold fireplace, and delivered the speech from a podium. I'm not sure if the President was shooting for an FDR "fireside chat"-type vibe or even a Jimmy Carter "fireside chat"-type vibe (Carter actually delivered his chats from that very room). Bush's aides explained that the library would make the President appear serious yet conversational, but it came off looking more like he was pitching the latest Time-Life book series. Worse yet, it reminded me of Bill Clinton's choice of the random, nondescript Map Room to publicly admit his affair with Monica Lewinsky. I'm pretty sure that's the last thing Bush wanted people thinking about last night.

The line from the speech that was most interesting to me, but not overly-dissected in the post-speech analysis that I watched was the President's admission of responsibility: "Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me." Although today's headlines have trumpeted this statement as Bush "taking blame" and admitting that he made mistakes, the indirectness and passivity of the specific language are noteworthy. Statements of apologia, or self-defense, especially in a political context, are carefully crafted in terms of language. So the way that sentence is constructed is very intentional and strategic. No mistakes had been identified at that point in the speech so the "admission," as heard by the public, was somewhat empty. Second, the phrase "the responsibility rests with me" is much less assertive and direct than a statement like "I take responsibility for...." Why does it matter? Because, in that brief but important moment, Bush's cultivated and appealing image as a plain-talking, straight shooter was subordinated to his unappealing disdain for admitting error. As a result, I predict that the passage will not have the public impact that the President hoped it would.