Bush to Address Nation on Terror Update

President Bush announced he will deliver a "major address" to the nation Thursday evening regarding our progress in the global War on Terror. While the address is not specifically about Iraq, the President will certainly invoke several recent successes in the conflict. (CNN: Bush plans 'major speech' on Iraq, terrorism).

There are several key points the President must deliver well if he hopes to reverse sagging poll numbers.

• The President must convince us that Iraqi troops are assuming a bigger role in their own defense. There have been too many conflicting reports coming out of his own military leaders on that topic and the general perception is that we're not making any progress there. In fact, recent reports make it sound like we've taken some major steps backwards. It's up to the President to convince us otherwise with more than just rah rah rhetoric.
• The President must underscore the significance of the recent death of al Qaeda's number two operative in Iraq. Most people read that and yawned. The common response was, "where's bin Laden?" Very few people understand the importance of this success and he needs to drive that home.
• The President must do a much better job than he has in the past in liking Iraq to the overall war-on-terror. Only devoted war hawks are convinced that such a linkage exists, and overall support for the war continues to drop with each passing day. To date, the President has done an extremely poor job convincing the public that there is such a linkage. He must reverse that tomorrow night.

Addressing the nation is a very valuable weapon for a president in wartime, yet President Bush rarely takes advantage of that tactic. With his poll numbers reaching all-time lows, and with less than 1/2 of Americans supporting the War in Iraq now, President Bush must take his message directly to the people far more frequently than he has to date. This will be especially true heading into the 2006 mid-terms. The best way to raise national morale and raise sagging popularity ratings is to address the nation. If he's going to turn this around, he must do it himself. Tomorrow night is a good start, but it can't end there.

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