On Friday, splashy pictures of the president holding a trayful of glistening turkey and fixings and surrounded by smiling soldiers were on the front page of every newspaper this side of the Atlantic.
In a sweeping gesture of commitment to "stay the course" in Iraq, Bush visited the troops in Baghdad for Thanksgiving dinner.
The highly secretive trip was considered so dangerous that if word leaked while the plane was in the air, Air Force One was going to turn back. The plane flew without running lights and with all window shades down. When they arrived, all passengers were suited in bulletproof vests and camouflage. A short two hours or so later, the president and his cohorts were on their way back home.
Let the PR games begin.
Bush's brief jaunt to Iraq inarguably was a campaign tactic, but the president was received so favorably by troops that it only could have boosted their morale. Likewise, the Republicans who've never run out of nice things to say about Bush Part Deux are beaming brighter than ever.
It's those on the left and in the middle who are having a harder time figuring out what to make of this one. Aides to Howard Dean and Wesley Clark publicly lauded Bush's dedication. Centrist Democrats everywhere were scratching their heads, wondering why they're opposed to such a sincere and devoted president.
It's less of a dilemma than one might think. The trip revealed nothing new of our president. His words to the troops about "staying the course" helped correct his premature boasting in May that our mission in Iraq has been accomplished. The reporters who accompanied him attested to his sincerity and passion for the cause of rebuilding Iraq. In a way, the trip did something to describe the nature of his convictions: showing that they are held, indeed, in his blood.
This is only good, however, if Bush is right all the time. Otherwise, "conviction" amounts to stubbornness, which opponents say is the reason that Bush's foreign policy is so dangerous.
Stubbornness under the guise of "conviction" is the heart of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It was behind the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.
"Conviction" has become the driving excuse for so many horrific acts - it's a wonder that we still consider convictions to be an intrinsically admirable attribute.
I'll admit, I was impressed by the news of Bush's trip.
But we still need to keep our eyes on what this particular news represents - that President Bush is a person who will not back down, rethink his positions or question his own policies - and whether we want a person like that in charge anymore.
Emily Lyons is a journalism senior. Reach her at emily.lyons@asu.edu.
