Iraq spells trouble for Bush

[hussar]

The rain whipped the grey slab of the UN Plaza on New York's East River; it was far more vicious than anything Hurricane Isabel had dished up a week before.

Delegates, diplomats and ministers abandoned protocol and joined the stampede of journalists charging for cover in one of the white marquee tents that had been set up for security checks.

Despite the dousing though, the mood was upbeat. Thousands had converged on the UN to see how President George W Bush would perform in front of an audience that was at best sceptical, at worst hostile.

Mr Bush remained bone dry that morning but I have rarely seen him look so ill at ease. This man, who can crack a smile as broad as a watermelon, barely showed the whites of his teeth.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3143984.stm

[Cha]

1. I love the way they write in the British papers...

"Nevertheless the White House is getting nervous. They always knew the economy was going to be a problem and there is only so much they can do to make Americans feel better off when jobs are still been shed.

But ironically, it is Iraq that has now become the nightmare - it's the war, stupid, you might say.

The war was always meant to be a vote winner. It made the president and America look strong, but the daily drip-drip of US casualties is raising awkward questions.

Here's another irony. I'm convinced that if the same number of soldiers had been killed in the heat of a single battle during the storming of Baghdad at the height of the war, few in this country would have asked: "Is it worth it?"
:kick:

[izzie]

2. I finally saw the figures of 1500 for hospitals since the cog thing.

and 3000 total for the take over. "war"

[cliss]

3. And well he should be nervous

Bush was not in his element on Tuesday, so to speak. He knew that these were the very people he had spat on not a year earlier, basically telling them to 'blow'.

Now, he was forced to show up, not to plead beg or bargain, but to unrepentantly state his case, which was - what? That he was right all along about Iraq, and we still need to run the show.

He took a lot of flak for leaving immediately after his speech, thereby missing Chirac's speech, but I think he was just wasted after that. There probably wasn't much point in him staying.