12 March 2006
Still reeling from the Republican revolt over the Dubai Ports World deal, President George W. Bush will today launch a round of speeches on the war in Iraq, his most intractable political problem.
The initiative, as the third anniversary of the start of war approaches, is unlikely to offer any changes in US policy. But with Mr Bush facing the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, he is expected to offer a more candid assessment.
"Amid the daily news of car bombs and kidnappings and brutal killings, I can understand why many of our fellow citizens are now wondering if the entire mission was worth it," Mr Bush said on Saturday, in a preview of his remarks. "I strongly believe our country is better off with Saddam Hussein out of power."
The attention to Iraq comes as Mr Bush faces questions about the rift within his party on the ports deal and calls for changes to senior staff if he is to reassert himself in the remaining years of his presidency. "There is some question about whether those around him have served him well," Norm Coleman, Republican senator from Minnesota, told the New York Times.
Those worries were evident among party activists who gathered in Memphis, Tennessee at the weekend, where potential presidential candidates in 2008 distinguished themselves by the levels of support they offered Mr Bush.
The president has shown little interest in making changes to his inner circle of advisers, and he brushes off questions about the Republican revolt in Congress.
"I've read all the stories about this rift, or that rift," Mr Bush said on Saturday. "I am looking forward to continuing to work with the leadership in Congress to pass an agenda that will keep America the economic leader of the world and will keep this country secure."
Mike Pence, leader of a group of about 100 conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives, called Mr Bush "a determined and focused leader". But Mr Pence, who last week presented a federal budget plan that makes deeper spending cuts than those proposed by Mr Bush, told Fox News that Congress "is simply beginning to step back up to its truly independent role".
In addition to clashes on federal spending, Mr Bush is likely to face tensions within his party on immigration reform and implementation of the Medicare prescription drug benefit. At the same time, some Democrats are stepping up criticism.
Russ Feingold, a senator from Wisconsin, said yesterday he would introduce a censure resolution, scolding the president for his domestic eavesdropping programme. The White House has defended the wiretapping as legal and necessary.
But Mr Feingold told ABC: "What the president did, by consciously and intentionally violating the constitution and the laws of this country with this illegal wiretapping, has to be answered."
Holly Yeager in Washington
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