A Peace President?

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Meeting with French President Chirac last weekend, President Bush tried hard to keep smiling. Even during a joint press conference in which the two aired their differences on Iraq (Chirac voicing concern about the "degree of chaos prevailing" in the country), Bush tried to emphasize their common goals. The visit was not just an attempt to mend the rupture between the two countries over the war but also an important step in Bush's monthlong effort to show that he is an enthusiastic member of the international community. This week he will be host of the leading economic countries in Sea Island, Ga., and he will attend the NATO summit in three weeks in Istanbul.

Indeed, the President is privately telling aides that after leading the nation to war in his first term, he wants to spend his next four years being "a peace President." Officials in the Administration contend he has more credibility as a diplomat now that he has shown a willingness to use force to back his principles. "The reason diplomacy will be effective in a second term is because of the use of the military," says a senior Administration official. Doubters suspect the shift is aimed at coaxing other nations to help rescue his failing Iraq policy — and to present a less warlike face to voters. Bush campaign advisers concede as much. "It may help overseas, yes," says a top Bush campaign adviser, "but if nothing else, it gives us ammunition to push back against Kerry."

Yet despite the President's efforts, the diplomatic tensions won't simply disappear. When Bush was asked if he would offer Chirac a coveted invitation to his Texas ranch, the President seemed hesitant. "If he wants to come and see some cows, he's welcome to come out there," he told the French magazine Paris Match. Chirac, a former agriculture minister, was just as cool in an NBC interview. "I myself am from a region," he noted, "where we raise cows — probably the most beautiful and best in the world."