Guest editorial: Bush needed to step forward

This weekend, President Bush needed to meet with the press, and he needed to say in the strongest possible words that the United States, under no conditions, would back down in this war in the Middle East. He needed to explain again what our purposes are in this war and to tell us that the sacrifices are to a good end.

He needed to say all this himself, and he needed to say it clearly and with emphasis because that's the best way to get the message to American citizens and to Iraqis that we will see this war through.

Most Americans are still with the president on his Iraq policy, but each time the cost in lives goes up, there have to be concerns that maybe a mistake was made, that maybe the objective of a stable, peaceful, non-threatening Iraq can be achieved only at a price few of us would want to pay. The citizenry needs reassurance from a president who is clearly in command and who clearly knows his own mind.

The Iraqis need reassurance, too, because otherwise the United States might not get enough help from them to put a lasting, decent, representative system of governance in place. If the Iraqi people believe there is a chance the Americans will retreat from this mission, they will be hesitant to give support that could cost them their lives on the return to power of Saddam Hussein or someone like him.

It's true that President Bush's political opponents are being sharply critical of him because of the war, but the answer is not for him to hand off the responsibility of response to setbacks to subordinates. It is for him to do all that he can do to lead, and to see the war to a successful conclusion.