Suzanne Malveaux: "President Bush and his closest ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, have stood shoulder to shoulder on the Iraq war since the very beginning. Critics calling Mr. Bush 'the cowboy' for stubbornly leading the charge, and Mr. Blair 'the poodle' for obediently following. But three years since the U.S. invasion, the two are still adamant their Iraq mission is sound. President Bush didn't just drink the Kool-Aid, he made it. But perhaps now it's a little less sweet."
Video available: Real (1.54 MB) or Windows Media (1.73 MB), plus MP3 audio (274 KB)
Also, note that the CNN reporter resorted to the tired cliche of using "critics say' in order to make her attacks.
In an attempt to underline her point, Malveaux followed her broadside with two clips of Bush and Blair claiming that success is still possible. Apparently now that CNN has won the campaign to elect a Democratic majority, the network has embarked on a new one: Admit that the entire Iraq operation is a failure and withdraw immediately.
(Note: Malveaux's segment first aired on the December 7 edition of "Anderson Cooper: 360.")
A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:04am on December 8, follows:
Betty Nguyen: "Well, the President met with his biggest supporter in the war, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on Thursday. The Iraq Study Group's recommendations dominated those discussions, but what did the two leaders settle on, and more importantly, when can we expect to see some changes? CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins us now from the White House. A lot of questions on hand, Suzanne.
Suzanne Malveaux: "Good morning, Betty. We know that British Prime Minister Tony Blair has two months left in office, President Bush two years. And what happens in Iraq will largely determine both leaders' legacies. So while they stood side by side in the beginning of this war, both emphasized that they will be together in trying to find a way out. It's probably the closest you'll get from this president to admitting failure."
Bush "I thought we would succeed quicker than we did, and I am disappointed by the pace of success."
Malveaux: "The bipartisan Iraq Study Group described the situation in Iraq as grave and deteriorating. The President's incoming Secretary of Defense said the U.S. was not winning. For Mr. Bush, it's not easy to admit mistakes."
Bush: "It's a difficult moment for America and Great Britain."
Malveaux: "But perhaps now, more than ever, people want to know is he in denial? Does he get it?"
Bush: "It's bad in Iraq. Does that help? I do know that we have not succeeded as fast as we wanted to succeed. I, I, I do understand that progress is not as rapid as I had hoped."
Malveaux: "President Bush and his closest ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, have stood shoulder to shoulder on the Iraq war since the very beginning. Critics calling Mr. Bush 'the cowboy' for stubbornly leading the charge, and Mr. Blair 'the poodle' for obediently following. But three years since the U.S. invasion, the two are still adamant their Iraq mission is sound. President Bush didn't just drink the Kool-Aid, he made it. But perhaps now it's a little less sweet."
Bush: "Not only do I know how important it is to prevail, I believe we will prevail."
Tony Blair: "Now, I think the vision is absolutely correct. What we've got to do now -- and this is exactly why the President is talking about the way forward -- is that we've got to get the right way forward."
Malveaux: "Now, the President seemed to rule out actually one-on- one talks with Iran and Syria, but he did not rule out the possibility of a regional conference involving those two regimes. He also seemed to move forward in a more active role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But, Betty, he said he's not making any decisions until he reviews the internal review from the Pentagon, the State Department and the National Security Council. He'll get all those reports together and then he'll make an address to the nation with this proposal, with his plan. And we're told in the next couple of weeks."
