What a difference an election makes. With US mid-term Congressional polls just 11 days away, US President George W. Bush is sending out all the right signals to voters on Iraq: no matter what the on-the-ground realities may be.
On Tuesday, for example, his ambassador to Iraq and his top military commander in the nation gave an up-beat assessment at a 2pm Baghdad news conference. That happened to coincide with the highly popular 7am breakfast television shows on the American east coast.
Their message went out loud and clear to Americans over their first cup of coffee: a US-Iraqi plan was in the works that might have foreign soldiers leaving in 12 to 18 months.
This was as positive a message as could be presented in light of the dozens of American soldiers killed in the insurgency raging in at least five Iraqi provinces. Not for two years has there been such a high monthly toll.
Nonetheless, for Americans increasingly critical of the Bush administration for its Iraq policy, even a hint that the 141,000 troops will be coming home sooner rather than later is a positive sign.
Whether it can be translated into votes to shore up sagging support for Republicans may yet be dependent on what else Mr Bush can conjure up over the next 11 days.
