“Not only can we win the war in Iraq, we are winning the war in Iraq.”

Some comments on the President's address:

He seemed to take unqualified responsibility for EVERYTHING taking place in Iraq. He made the decisions and acknowledges that some of the decisions didn't necessarily produce the results intended (no WMDs, faulty intelligence notwithstanding). He then went on to remind us that there were certainly unintended consequences to invading Iraq, foremost bringing democracy to the formerly oppressed nation. On this matter his most striking quote to me was, "[Saddam Hussein's] power to harm a single man, woman or child is gone forever.

Not nearly enough people recognize that.

“We know from [terrorists] own communications that they feel a tightening noose.”

That seemed to me a veiled reference to the benefits of "spying on Americans" so many are up in arms about right now. But it drove home that we are winning.

He outlined a three-point strategy regarding Iraq (security, democracy, reconstruction). He stated that things haven't been perfect, but we must learn from our mistakes, and indicated that he will make decisions based on progress on the ground and not artificial timetables created by politicians. Should we follow such timetables, we will signal to Iraq that our word cannot be trusted, troop morale would be undermined and terrorists would be emboldened.

Finally, he spoke directly to those who have disagreed with his policies and states that he listened to their opinions and understood their concerns (sidenote: something I've seen regularly in the business world is that people don't understand that their opinion is heard but not acted upon. All too often it's because this isn't directly expressed to them. Bush came right out and said it tonight.) He reminds these people now that we, as a nation, have two options: victory or defeat. He clearly states which option he's following by saying:

“To retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonor, and I
will not allow it.”

Great line.

And because I always read him and checked his site before posting this, I thought I'd add that Glenn Reynolds thinks "Bush went out of his way to take responsibility for the war."

Absolutely.