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Only Republican senators came to the White House yesterday, a sign perhaps of the president's desire to rebuild his base on the eve of a critical speech. Several seemed mixed in their comments about the president's course.
"He seemed very confident," said Sen. Thad Cochran (Miss.), the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee, who was in one group. "I'm convinced he's come up with a proposal that he thinks will work."
But he said he was struck by the degree of discord at his meeting. "I think I was the only senator who acted like he would be supportive," Cochran said. "I was surprised that no one said it but me."
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who met with Bush on Friday and yesterday, said he is "convinced that this plan is substantially different than anything that has been tried in the past." He added: "I am convinced that the American people want to prevail. This gives us a chance to do that."
Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) said he "felt much better" about the plan after his 20-minute meeting with Bush, although he was reserving judgment until he saw the details. Domenici said the president's plan has been mischaracterized in recent weeks and is more complex than just a buildup of troops in Baghdad, adding that the Iraqis have agreed to spend at least $10 billion and will be in charge of the security plan.
"The plan is not 20,000 soldiers -- I wouldn't even consider the plan if it was 20,000 American soldiers, because that's too small a number for a surge," he said. "The people coming out of these meetings saying it's the lead ingredient just didn't get it. There are a lot of other important elements."
Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) said the president was asked during her meeting what would be different about his new plan, and he replied that Maliki has had a "sea change" in attitude. But she said she came away unconvinced.
"I have deep skepticism about it -- about a surge addressing the root causes of the mistrust and hatred that sects have for each other," Snowe said. "That's what I expressed. The fact of the matter is that the American people don't support this war and the way it has evolved because they see the Iraqis fighting among themselves instead of for themselves."
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