Bush is speaking about Iraq to friendly audiences:

Here is a list of major events over the last six months where Bush was in front of a sizeable crowd. Those where the audience was military or security services is highlighted in yellow.

date	what	where
November 14, 2005	President Delivers Remarks at Elmendorf AFB on War on Terror	Elmendorf AFB
November 11, 2005	President Commemorates Veterans Day, Discusses War on Terror	Tobyhanna Army Depot
October 28, 2005	President Discusses War on Terror	Chrysler Hall, Norfolk, Virginia
October 25, 2005	President Addresses Joint Armed Forces Officers' Wives' Luncheon	Bolling Air Force Base
October 25, 2005	President Addresses Republican National Committee Dinner	Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
October 13, 2005	President Addresses U.S. Troops in Iraq in Video Teleconference	To troops in Iraq
October 6, 2005	President Discusses War on Terror at National Endowment for Democracy	Ronald Reagan Building
October 4, 2005	President Holds Press Conference	The Rose Garden
September 22, 2005	President Discusses War on Terror and Hurricane Preparation	The Pentagon
September 21, 2005	President's Remarks at Republican Jewish Coalition 20th Anniversary	Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
September 16, 2005	President's Remarks at National Day of Prayer and Remembrance Service	Washington National Cathedral
September 9, 2005	President Remembers 9/11 Heroes at Medal of Valor Award Ceremony	The South Lawn
August 28, 2005	President Discusses Hurricane Katrina, Congratulates Iraqis on Draft Constitution	Prairie Chapel Ranch, Crawford, Texas
August 24, 2005	President Addresses Military Families, Discusses War on Terror	Idaho Center, Nampa, Idaho
August 22, 2005	President Honors Veterans of Foreign Wars at National Convention	Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
August 3, 2005	President Discusses Second Term Accomplishments and Priorities	Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center
July 11, 2005	President Discusses War on Terror at FBI Academy	FBI Academy
June 28, 2005	President Addresses Nation, Discusses Iraq, War on Terror	Fort Bragg, North Carolina
June 9, 2005	President Discusses Patriot Act	Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy
May 31, 2005	President's Press Conference	The Rose Garden
May 27, 2005	President Discusses War on Terror at Naval Academy Commencement	Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

In virtually every case where the war (in Iraq or "on terror") was discussed, it was with a military audience (and the October 28th event was with a Republican campaign crowd.)

Sure, some of that is to be expected, but the fact that virtually all "war" speeches are to military audiences, indicates a problem with general public support (and also that he's using the military as props).

Question: What was Bush doing prior to mid-May? Spending a lot of time discussing Social Security to selected Bush-friendly audiences.


posted by Quiddity at 11/15/2005 09:04:00 AM