Bush, the day after

As he held his post-election press conference today, President Bush found himself faced with a difficult task. During the election, he and his party insisted that Democrats embraced terrorists and would leave both Iraqis and our troops in harm’s way if they were elected. Now that they’re elected, he has to convince the public -- and especially the troops -- that he and the Republican Party lied, that the nation will continue to support the troops.

Speaking of lies: During his press conference, the president fessed up. He says he lied when, a week before the election, he told reporters that Rumsfeld would stay on. His reason: he didn’t want to inject an important decision into the campaign.

Rumsfeld or no, Bush kept up his defense of his Iraq policies, insisting that the US can “win” -- and that Iraq is not in the throes of a civil war.

-- Mary Anna Towler