Dick + Rummy = Dummy

The White House is usually pretty good at keeping its people 'on message'. No matter how inaccurate the information, the talking heads generally all sing the same tune. I think the latest poll, which suggests serious lack of confidence in the War on Iraq, is evidence that the wheels are coming off. For example here's Cheney on Larry King about a month ago:

The insurgency in Iraq is "in the last throes," Vice President Dick Cheney says, and he predicts that the fighting will end before the Bush administration leaves office. - CNN.com

And he continues to go balls out:

Cheney said he was not backing down from his remark. "If you look at what the dictionary says about throes, it can still be a violent period, the throes of a revolution," Cheney said in an interview with CNN. - Reuters

Meanwhile:

The top American military commander in the Persian Gulf disputed a contention by Vice President Dick Cheney that the Iraqi insurgency was in its “last throes” and told Congress on Thursday that its strength was basically undiminished from six months ago. Furthermore, Gen. John Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee, “I believe there are more foreign fighters coming into Iraq than there were six months ago.” - AP/MSNBC.com

And, of course, Rummy throws in his (conflicting) two cents:

The Iraqi insurgency could stretch on for more than a decade, U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said as he played down meetings between American officials and militant leaders. - CBC.ca

A confliciting message equals bad politics. Arguably, conistent messaging is the number one rule; even if the message is wrong (as in this case) everyone in the administration should be on the same page. I suspect Bush's address today will, in part, be an effort to put his boys in line. Karl Rove, or as I affectionately call him "The Puppet Master" is probably pretty pissed (oooh, alliteration).