Sometimes the First Draft is Best

I did some searching around and found this original draft of Bush's radio address from today:

Good morning. This week I kicked off my re-election campaign when I traveled to Fort Polk, in Louisiana. Returning to a National Guard outpost in the Deep South was, for me, almost like the completion of a journey started long ago. Working on campaign related activities instead of doing my sworn duty -- well, let's just say it brought back a lot of memories. But my visit to an American military base isn't only about me or the precipitous decline in my credibility. My visit is about the 14 Fort Polk soldiers who have given their lives in my ill-timed war to make Iraq a haven for terrorists. I am confident that if Americans can forget about the sacrifices of our National Guard troops as easily as I have then I will win reelection.

Over the last 29 months, many National Guard troops and their families have learned the meaning of sacrifice. I've extended the deployments of National Guard units far beyond their original terms of service. I've sent these brave men and women farther from home than they ever believed possible. And I've also underfunded their mission to such an extent that many of our finest troops have to purchase their own equipment. But, afterall, success in the war on terror requires sacrifice by some people.

For 12 years Saddam Hussein made my daddy look silly for not finishing the job when he had the chance. Then, in 2002, contrary to my wishes, the international community got inspectors back into Iraq. The inspectors saw no new threat. But I didn't believe them. So I asked my State Department to investigate. I didn't like what they said either. I kept asking various agencies until I finally got tired of hearing answers that didn't support my decision to go to war.

All of us knew Saddam Hussein's history. Afterall, it was the wink, wink, nudge, nudge diplomacy of my pappy and Ronald Reagan that allowed him to wage aggressive wars against neighboring countries and inspired him to dominate the Middle East. He built weapons of mass destruction with America's consent and then used them against thousands of Iraqis and Iranians. We know this because we were his good friends when he did it.

Saddam Hussein doubted our resolve to enforce our word. That's understandable given the difficulty I have with the truth. But now he sits in a prison cell while I try to figure out how to get American troops out of his country before our elections. Today in Iraq, our coalition faces deadly attacks from a remnant of Saddam's supporters, joined by foreign terrorists. While the evidence for al Qaeda presence in Iraq was once very thin, thanks to me we now know Iraq is crawling with all kinds of terrorists.

Recently we intercepted some documentation that my predecessor prepared for me describing a terrorist strategy to attack the United States. We stealthily ignored this report until it was too late. My predecessor tried to warn me about al Qaeda. He told me that I would "spend more time on terrorism generally, and on al-Qaeda specifically, than any other subject." But the American people elected me to be a leader and I'm not about to follow any of my predecessor's advice.

That's why I have made Iraq the central front in our war on terror. The terrorists know that the emergence of a free Iraq will be a major blow against a worldwide terrorist movement. Of course they also know how good my word is.

I've talked a lot about drafting a basic law with a bill of rights. The establishment of a free Iraq will be a watershed event in the history of the Middle East, helping to advance the spread of liberty throughout that vital region. And as freedom takes hold in the greater Middle East, the people of the region will find new hope, and America will be more secure.

The problem, of course, is how to make America more secure while at the same time securing my own re-election.

But I have seen this situation before and I know how to deal with it. Americans hardly noticed when I abandoned Afghanistan to the terrorists and warlords in that country. And unless my grand vision for democracy in Iraq can be achieved by June 30th Iraq, like Afghanistan, will be free to look for someone else to finish what I started.

My policies in Iraq and Afghanistan are modeled after lessons I learned over 30 years ago. When America was looking for men to serve in Vietnam "I was not prepared to shoot my eardrum out with a shotgun in order to get a deferment. Nor was I willing to go to Canada. So I chose to better myself by learning how to fly airplanes."

But after a while I found better things to do with my time. So, when I thought no one was paying attention, I sneaked away. My approach was vindicated when the TANG discharged me eight months early.

And I fully expect the American people to vindicate my approach on Iraq and Afghanistan by reelecting me. For although my actions often don't match my rhetoric, I have an ace in the hole. I need merely utter a few words and conjure a little propaganda...

Two-and-a-half years ago, on a clear September morning, the enemies of America brought a new kind of war to our shores. Three days later, I stood in the rubble of the Twin Towers...

You see? I bet you're picturing me standing on some rubble shouting into a bull horn. Get used to it. That image will be everywhere this fall.

Thank you for listening. But please don't pay attention to what I actually do.

If you're interested, you can read the text of the address he actually delivered on air. Karl Rove made a few edits from the original draft.