Friday Roundup: The Illusion of Change

On Fridays we usually like to make with a few jokes and keep things light. Today that might not be possible.

Last night President Bush addressed the nation concerning the war in Iraq. At a social function last night, I heard someone describing his impending speech like this: "Do you know what Bush is telling the country tonight? He's making a speech to let us know that we're going to be in Iraq forever."

The press response has been what you might expect, now that almost everyone has stopped giving Bush a free pass. If you want to know how the language has changed in these days when, as the New York Post put it, Bush is "consigning the future of Iraq, if not the entire Middle East, to the American presidential political process" and leaving it for the next president, Doyle McManus explains it with aplomb for the Los Angeles Times:

For more than four years since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, President Bush has most often defined the U.S. objective there with a single stirring word: "Victory."

"Victory in Iraq is vital for the United States of America," he told cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in May. "Victory in this struggle will require more patience, more courage and more sacrifice," he warned National Guardsmen in West Virginia in July.

But this week, the word "victory" quietly disappeared from the president's vocabulary. It was replaced, instead, by a more ambiguous goal: "Success."

Edwards was on the air right after Bush was, and his criticism was aimed not only at Bush but also at Congress, blaming both for not stopping the war. In case you were curious, John Cornyn was right back to carrying water for the President on his plans for the non-drawdown drawdown and any future surges that might come up.

While some bad news about Alaska Republicans taking bribes became national news, some more good news for an enlarged Democratic Senate majority came out: Jeanne Shaheen, who had three terms as governor of New Hampshire, will run for John Sununu's Senate seat. The Politico's line on Sununu:

The freshman senator is now viewed as one of the most vulnerable incumbents up for reelection next year, largely due to his continued support for Bush’s position on the Iraq war.

Bush really is dragging the ship down with him at every turn.

Speaking of things with wide-reaching effect, Hurricane Humberto caught everyone by surprise this week and caused some ruckus in Texas and southern Louisiana. The reason for that surprise is because it went from tropical depression to hurricane overnight, in right around 16 hours.

Not only did the refinery disruption push oil over $80 per barrel for the first time ever, but it also provided some insight into how prepared some communities affected by Rita and Katrina have become in the time since those storms in 2005. The Chron reports that a problem with current plans, developed after Rita, is that they assume 3 days time for planning and ramp-up. Obviously, with Humberto, that time wasn't available.

Finally today, that White House report to Congress on progress in Iraq? It is out this morning, and what the White House describes as it will, the press describes as "meager gains." It is available in PDF here.