Last night was the last opportunity President Bush would have until his farewell address in January of 2009 to alter the national perception about his ailing presidency.  Putting it bluntly, he did not hit a home run.  In fact, it was more like a foul bunt on the third strike.

During the President's Monday prime time address to the nation, he turned what was originally a day of remembrance and prayer into a political speech that outlined why he agrees with himself on Iraq.  While finally admitting that it is difficult to for him make the connection between September 11th and Iraq, Bush said something about Saddam Hussein's potential weapons capability that completely contradicts the 2004 Duelfer Report:

"I'm often asked why we're in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks.  The answer is that the regime of Saddam Hussein was a clear threat.  My administration, the Congress, and the United Nations saw the threat -- and after 9/11, Saddam's regime posed a risk that the world could not afford to take.  The world is safer because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power."

But according to the Duelfer Report, Saddam was anything but a clear threat.  Instead, as the report clearly outlined, Iraq posed a diminishing threat.  The report went on to add that even Saddam's "detailed interest in military affairs diminished compared to that shown during the Iran-Iraq war or Desert Storm."  So not only did Saddam Hussein not have the capability to pose a threat, he also did not even intend to threaten anyone either.  Again, it's all in the Duelfer Report -- located on the CIA web site.

So, as for the world being safer because Saddam is no longer in power, you tell me whether you would prefer a diminishing threat or a never-ending wave of sectarian violence with our soldiers caught in the middle?

The misleading didn't end there.  Bush overstated the presence of Al Qaeda in Iraq:

"Al Qaeda and other extremists from across the world have come to Iraq to stop the rise of a free society in the heart of the Middle East.  They have joined the remnants of Saddam's regime and other armed groups to foment sectarian violence and drive us out."

What Bush chose not to include was the fact that only around 4% of the insurgency is composed of foreign groups such as al Qaeda.  Between 90% and 96% are home grown.  Over in Afghanistan, however, there are hundreds of thousands of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.  In Iraq, we have four times as many troops and four times as many U.S. lives lost as in Afghanistan.  Does that mean Afghanistan is only one-fourth as important as Iraq?

Getting back to basics, the home-grown insurgency in Iraq is very unique.  These are people that have lived in Iraq for thousands of years.  If we pulled out, it's not like they would follow us home as Bush tried to trick us into believing just two weeks ago during his speech in front of the American Legion in Salt Lake City:

"We will fight the terrorists overseas so we do not have to face them here at home."

Yes, we will fight the terrorists oversees.  But which terrorists?  Are we going to distract ourselves and only fight the home-grown terrorists that will stay in Iraq anyway?  Or should we devote our attention to fighting the ones that actually threaten our shores?

Five years after the attacks on our soil, President Bush had an opportunity to make this a day of prayer and remembrance.  Instead he chose to mislead, as he has been doing for long enough -- that is why many Americans have tuned him out all together.

As the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me."  Let's add a line: Fool me thrice, we will tune you out.
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Other sites blogging about President Bush: Media Matters, Born at the Crest of an Empire, Corrente Wire, We're Sorry He's our President, Where's the Outrage, The Truth, Liberal Hyperbole, Courage Makes a Majority, The Diplomatic Times Review, Hoffmania, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune, Norwegianity, Slantblog, Big Shot Bob in Texas, Left of Centrist, Blue Crab Boulevard.