WASHINGTON — Mixing contrition with defiant optimism, President Bush sought Wednesday to dispel questions from anxious voters and Republican candidates about the GOP's wartime leadership in Iraq.
His White House news conference demonstrated that the president intended to remain a central participant in the midterm election, even though his approval ratings have slipped and most voters are unhappy with his Iraq policies.
But the appearance also underscored the challenge facing endangered Republicans less than two weeks before the Nov. 7 election as they look to the White House for a clear message on the war. Throughout the hour, the typically plain-spoken Bush offered descriptions of his plans for waging the war that were complicated and at times appeared contradictory.
In his opening remarks, for example, Bush acknowledged, "I know many Americans are not satisfied with the situation in Iraq. I'm not satisfied, either."
But asked moments later to assess the war, he responded adamantly, "Absolutely, we're winning" the fight against terrorism.
He took full responsibility for the war, saying, "If people are unhappy about it, look right to the president." Later, he said it was up to the generals to ask for more troops if they needed them and said he would take advice from a bipartisan commission.
And after months of ridiculing Democrats who want a timeline for ending the war, he expressed support for "benchmarks" that would lead to U.S. troop drawdowns.
With uncharacteristic nuance, Bush explained that there is a "significant difference between benchmarks for a government to achieve and a timetable for withdrawal." Yet later he said benchmarks would allow the Iraqi government to tell its people: "Here's what we intend to do, and here's when we intend to do it."
Though Bush is not on the ballot, the election for control of Congress has shaped up largely as a referendum on him and the war -- a formula that once worked in the GOP's favor but has grown shaky.
Aides said Bush would maintain an aggressive schedule until election day, attending rallies across the country designed largely to mobilize the conservative voters that form his party's usually reliable base.
Wednesday's appearance in the White House's East Room was intended not for those conservatives, but for moderate voters in competitive House districts. These voters have backed Bush and Republican incumbents in the past, but polls indicate they are wavering because of the war.
