Advice and Grudging Consent

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But some White House reaction was plain personal. This is the second time in six years that Bush has had to turn to Baker to save his skin (the first was Tallahassee in 2000). All the stories about the father's vaunted foreign-policy team riding in to save the son had become "an irritant," admitted a senior Administration official. A former Bush adviser who worked closely with the President speculated that Bush and Karl Rove "don't want Baker to get instant gratification" and won't make concessions at the outset. But that will change. "After the short-term ego fit, he will eventually come around. He is a political realist," said the former adviser.

So, apparently, is Senator Gordon Smith, a Republican from Oregon who voted for the war. He went to the Senate floor last week to say the Iraq adventure was "absurd ... it may even be criminal." A few more speeches like that by Republicans, and the debate about a course correction will be over.

Already, Bush and his aides have promised changes. He said he would give a pre- Christmas speech that would chart what he last week alternately called "a new course" and "a new way forward." A presidential adviser said the address would include "a new policy direction but no apology." A senior Administration official said some aides hope for a note of contrition ("Things haven't turned out the way I intended") similar to Ronald Reagan's 1987 mea culpa after the Tower Commission concluded that his inattention had contributed to the Iran-contra arms scandal.

"They know this is the time," the official said, of Bush's inner circle. "We're not going to have many of them left. This is the moment. We have to take these recommendations and show that we're listening. They know that."