Quotable

Reactions to Bush's Speech.

"George W. Bush spoke with all the confidence of a perp in a police lineup. I first interviewed the guy in 1987 and began covering his political rise in 1993, and I have never seen him, in public or private, look less convincing, less sure of himself, less cocky. With his knitted brow and stricken features, he looked, well, scared. Not surprising since what he was doing in the White House library was announcing the escalation of an unpopular war."

Howard Fineman

"The basic problem that you have is that you've got a stubborn jerk in the White House who will ignore anything and do what he wants to do."

Rep. Jerrold Nadler

If George W. Bush had delivered Wednesday night's speech two years ago, he would have deserved praise for candor, equanimity, and breadth of vision. But given its actual timing, one can only wonder about his grip on reality.

Fred Kaplan

President Bush was at his best tonight: serious, detailed, and above all, resolute.

Hugh Hewitt, Tool

"I applaud the president for rejecting the fatalism of failure and pursuing a new course to achieve success in Iraq."

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Tool Too

"This is a dangerously wrongheaded strategy that will drive America deeper into an unwinnable swamp at a great cost."
Sen. Chuck Hagel R-Neb. (Non-Tool)