Bush Eats CROW

After demagogue-ing the Democrats before the midterm elections, President Bush has forced down several helpings of days old CROW, Campaign Rhetoric of Outright War. For example, during the heated run up to Election Day, the Campaigner in Chief said:

"The Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses. That's what's at stake in this election. The Democrat goal is to get out of Iraq. The Republican goal is to win in Iraq."

Now that the populace voted a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, the President put a different spin on the results.

"The message of this week's elections is clear: The American people want their leaders in Washington to set aside partisan differences, conduct ourselves in an ethical manner and work together to address the challenges facing our nation."

While this resonates with my vote, I wonder “why does he no longer believe his earlier statement?” He did dust off his “bi-partisan” speak, unveiled several times in the past only to be quickly placed back on the shelf.

"This is important work that will demand the hard effort and good faith of leaders from both sides of the aisle, and I pledge to do my part."

How long will it last? And will it only be front stage behavior while behind the curtain, the long practiced, but tiring win/lose, hyper-competitiveness of the permanent campaign continues unchecked?