Some things to think about:
"No government should ignore the threat of terror, because to look the other way gives terrorists the chance to regroup and recruit and prepare. And all nations that fight terror as if the lives of their own people depend on it will earn the favorable judgment of history." - President Bush to the United Nations, Sept. 23, 2003.
"The war on terror is a different kind of war, waged capture by capture, cell by cell, and victory by victory. Our security is assured by our perseverance and by our sure belief in the success of liberty. And the United States of America will not relent until this war is won." - Bush speaking to the nation following the capture of Saddam Hussein, Dec. 14, 2003.
"I have a clear vision and a strategy to win the war on terror." - Bush at a Waukesha, Wisc. campaign stop, July 2004.
"People say, 'Can you win the war on terror? Of course we can." - Bush at a Niles, Mich. campaign stop, May 14, 2004.
"I don't think you can win (the war on terror). But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world." - Bush on NBC's "Today," Aug. 30, 2004
Even after he admitted to a "miscalculation" concerning insurgent uprisings in Iraq, it's vindicating to see President Bush owning up to contradictions of his policy and rhetoric.
While these few concessions will certainly be refuted and debated in the days counting down to the November election, the impact of quotes like Monday's are sure to reverberate within the administration and resound in voters.
If those concessions of "miscalculation" were three days, three weeks or even three years overdue, they're better late than never. But if the individual who stressed optimism for an unwinnable war is now accepting reality, let's hope future calculations stay as accurate.
