The President's speech.

Here's the text of the speech President Bush made last night. Lately, he's been quite talkative, hasn't he? I like his new approach of speaking up frequently, because his critics will never observe a quiet spell. Even though I'm on line much of the day and read the news much too much, I never notice when these speeches are coming on. I only see afterwards. I think the assumption is that people are sitting around watching prime time television. Anyway, looking at the text of the speech this morning, I see that much of it is restatement of things he's already said, in the usual clear, short sentences. Maybe not everyone believes what he says, but he's always so easy to understand (when it's one of those written-out speeches). The main justification for doing another Iraq speech was last week's election:

Three days ago, more than 10 million Iraqis went to the polls -- including many Sunni Iraqis who had boycotted national elections last January. Iraqis of every background are recognizing that democracy is the future of the country they love -- and they want their voices heard. One Iraqi, after dipping his finger in the purple ink as he cast his ballot, stuck his finger in the air and said: "This is a thorn in the eyes of the terrorists." Another voter was asked, "Are you Sunni or Shia?" And he responded, "I am Iraqi."

He also repeats the themes of his other recent speeches: his critics are defeatists who are hurting the war effort for their own partisan interests:

Defeatism may have its partisan uses, but it is not justified by the facts. For every scene of destruction in Iraq, there are more scenes of rebuilding and hope. For every life lost, there are countless more lives reclaimed. And for every terrorist working to stop freedom in Iraq, there are many more Iraqis and Americans working to defeat them. My fellow citizens: Not only can we win the war in Iraq, we are winning the war in Iraq.

It is also important for every American to understand the consequences of pulling out of Iraq before our work is done. We would abandon our Iraqi friends and signal to the world that America cannot be trusted to keep its word. We would undermine the morale of our troops by betraying the cause for which they have sacrificed. We would cause the tyrants in the Middle East to laugh at our failed resolve, and tighten their repressive grip. We would hand Iraq over to enemies who have pledged to attack us and the global terrorist movement would be emboldened and more dangerous than ever before. To retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonor, and I will not allow it.

He tries to draw a line -- and it's an important line -- between those who think the decision to go to war was wrong and those who say we should give up in the middle of the war:

I ... want to speak to those of you who did not support my decision to send troops to Iraq: I have heard your disagreement, and I know how deeply it is felt. Yet now there are only two options before our country -- victory or defeat. And the need for victory is larger than any president or political party, because the security of our people is in the balance. I don't expect you to support everything I do, but tonight I have a request: Do not give in to despair, and do not give up on this fight for freedom.

Nicely put.