Heh

Letters page, NY Times:

The focus on public opinion at the heart of President Bush's speech at the Naval Academy last week is not new. The war policy has always been about marketing.

In 2002, before the invasion of Iraq, Andrew H. Card Jr., the White House chief of staff, said about the timing, "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August."

You can trace the rest of the history of this war in banners, from "Mission Accomplished" on the carrier Abraham Lincoln in 2003 to the "Plan for Victory" at the Naval Academy.

If all we need to get our troops home safely is to convince the public that we've won, let's unite, declare victory and withdraw. I'd be willing to accept it even if the president announced the victory against a backdrop of red, white and blue "I Was Right" banners.

Hugh Crossin
Walnut Creek, Calif., Dec. 4, 2005