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Commander-in-Chief George Bush set the news agenda with his year-end press conference on the prospects for the war in Iraq. Bush abandoned his habitual optimism. He no longer believes that US-led forces are winning the war--although he is still confident that they will win eventually. CBS and NBC both led with the press conference. CBS devoted almost its entire newscast to military matters.

NBC's Kelly O'Donnell interpreted Bush's mood shift as "less certainty, more hedge." She also noted that he has given up on his promise to be guided on troop deployment policy by his military commanders. Bush now calls the brass just "one part of his consultation process." CBS' Jim Axelrod asked the President about his interpretation of the Republican defeat in the midterms: "He still does not see the last election as a call to reduce troop levels." As for the future, ABC's Jake Tapper heard a "grim message--2006 in Iraq was bad; 2007 could be even worse."

And CBS' Bob Schieffer previewed an interview with First Lady Laura Bush for Face the Nation. He asked how her husband is handling the stress of wartime leadership. "It has been a very tough year. You do not just have this job and not live with it 24-hours-a-day."

Andrew Tyndall 12/21/06 7:01:50 pm

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