Somber and Subdued

By Creature

Yesterday the president gave another stump speech news conference. Flexibility aside, stay-the-course, of course, was the general message. However, the news out of the conference was not the president's message, but the president's tone. See, finally the president has learned, just in time for the elections, that petulance does not play well in Peoria.

Facing public dismay over the war in Iraq, President Bush on Wednesday somberly acknowledged the broad scope of American setbacks and missteps there. But he urged Americans to look beyond the violence on their TV screens and avoid disillusionment over a war he said was being won. [...]

While most Republican candidates have sought to turn voters’ attention away from the war, Mr. Bush chose to address it head-on, adopting a subdued tone, a new emphasis on tactical flexibility, and directly acknowledging the public’s reservations. [emphasis me]

Somber and subdued is the new swagger. Somber and subdued is the new spin.

The NYT has more.

(Cross-posted at State of the Day.)