So the president has mapped out a best-case scenario for Iraq on Jan. 20, 2009, that would still see considerable numbers of U.S. troops on the ground, but in a different role. If events work out as Bush hopes, aides said, U.S. forces by then will have sharply reduced their mission, pulling out of sectarian combat and focusing instead on fighting al-Qaeda, guarding Iraq's borders and supporting Iraqi troops. Instead of operating under a U.N. mandate, the United States would negotiate an agreement with the Iraqi government for a smaller, long-term presence.

I think you meant 2004
 Unknown | 10:05 AM

That last sentence is true IF Rove can mesmerize people into thinking it is so, just as Bush came in, after his first inaugural, governing as if he had won bigger than Reagan.

The thing that seems to be moving us toward a different result (read GTFO) is that the American people are more stalwart: it seems our Congress critters are getting their heinies singed during each and every recess.
 dell | 9:05 PM