The media is all over this.  "Bush Accepts Iraq-Vietnam Comparison" says ABC.  The SF Chronicle proclaims "Bush finally utters the "V" word as Iraq "mission" deteriorates".  Reuters:  "Bush sees possible Iraq-Vietnam parallel."

Being somewhat jaded to the accuracy of the main stream media, I had to read up on this to see if that is what he said.  And I discovered that yes he did….kinda.

The ABC article above has the most information and quotes.  So let’s see:

Bush Accepts Iraq-Vietnam Comparison

President Bush said in a one-on-one interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that a newspaper column comparing the current fighting in Iraq to the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam, which was widely seen as the turning point in that war, might be accurate.

There it is huh?  But let’s see it in context.

Stephanopoulos asked whether the president agreed with the opinion of columnist Tom Friedman, who wrote in The New York Times today that the situation in Iraq may be equivalent to the Tet offensive in Vietnam almost 40 years ago.

"He could be right," the president said, before adding, "There’s certainly a stepped-up level of violence, and we’re heading into an election."

Not quite the admission of a quagmire…and he is right. The offensive and rising death toll in conjunction with an election is a huge factor.

"George, my gut tells me that they have all along been trying to inflict enough damage that we’d leave," Bush said. "And the leaders of al Qaeda have made that very clear. Look, here’s how I view it. First of all, al Qaeda is still very active in Iraq. They are dangerous. They are lethal. They are trying to not only kill American troops, but they’re trying to foment sectarian violence. They believe that if they can create enough chaos, the American people will grow sick and tired of the Iraqi effort and will cause government to withdraw."

Exactly.  So true, and apparently so effective, as that is exactly what is happening.

Bush also had some tough words for Democrats, saying that pulling troops from Iraq would be the equivalent of surrender.

"If we were to leave before the job is done, in my judgment, the al Qaeda would find a safe haven from which to attack. This is exactly what they said," Bush said. The president insisted he was not disparaging his opponents.

Answering proactively the whining about people questioning their patriotism, he said:

"It’s not questioning their patriotism. I think it’s questioning their judgment," he said.

On the Democrats like Darcy Burner using him to trash talk their opponents he said:

Stephanopoulos pointed out that 72 Democrats running for the House had used Bush in their campaign ads.

"Are they saying good things?" Bush joked. "Look, maybe that strategy will work; maybe it won’t work. I’ve always found that when a person goes in to vote, they’re going to want to know what that person’s going to do. What is the plan for a candidate on Iraq? What do they believe?"

YES!  Exactly.  The campaign in 2004 was "Anyone but Bush", and the reason it failed was that it did not have any vision or agenda for the nation.  The attitude this round is Bush is a failure and therefore any candidate that is close to or agrees with Bush is too.  But again, there is a lack of agenda and plan. 

Some candidates on the left seem to focus more on Bush then their own qualifications.

All in all, Bush was in good form and said some very good things.

Not that you will hear that on the news.  All you will here there is Iraq is like Vietnam.

Maybe it is.  Looking back, did our cut and run pullout help?  Did our lack of resolve leave our troops demoralized?

Yes it will be like Vietnam if we continue, and we will bring home veterans who are exhausted and disheartened from the failure that our polices ensured, if we are not careful.

The choice to be like Vietnam has not happened yet, but it is coming.  And like Vietnam, the Iraqis and our soldiers will pay the price.

So yes, the president understands the reality of the comparison.  The Media does not.

Also at:  Sister Toldjah, Tigerhawk and Tammy Bruce