Sure, sure, there have been leaks: some pre-alpha frames, some beta frames, maybe even some pre-release frames, but today the White House released the golden master frames (version 1.. Some real news at last! Let's check in with TASS, er, FUX:

Bush will tell the nation Wednesday night he will send more than 20,000 additional American forces to Iraq, acknowledging that it had been a mistake earlier not to have more American and Iraqi troops fighting the war, a senior administration official said.

Wow! There's certainly a lot to anticipate here! Will Bush "acknowledge" that "mistakes were made"? Or will He hold himself accountable for the mistakes? [Snicker. No parsing, now!] Since He's said over and over that the commanders in the field would make the call on troop levels, how will He acknowledge a "mistake" without blaming the commanders?

Or will this speech be Bush's Checkers speech, and will our famously free press lap it up? Will a "newly contrite," "humbled" Bush have the bed unshit slate wiped clean, and will we be encouraged to "move on," "look forward," and "unite behind the President," now that Bush has been man enough to admit mistakes and show us "the way forward"?

(I mean, generally, when you're in a hole, you don't generally say, "My only mistake was that I didn't start digging sooner.")

Seeking support for a retooled strategy to win support for the unpopular war,....

["Retooled," eh? Snicker.]

... the president also will acknowledge that the rules of engagement were flawed, White House counselor Dan Bartlett said.

Excellent use of the passive voice here: "Were flawed." By whom?

This is brilliant--brilliant as only a cornered rat can be brilliant:

"A vast majority of the American people are not satisfied with the progress in Iraq," Bartlett said. "President Bush is in their camp. He's not satisfied, he's going to say the strategy was not working, he's going to tell them specifically how we're going to fix the strategy."

Bush coming before Congress with this nonsense reminds me of the six-year-old who broke his neighbor's plate, making excuses:

1. I never touched it.

2. When I borrowed the plate, it was already broken.

3. The plate in perfect was in perfect condition when I returned it.

Except Bush adds a new twist:

4. I'm with you, that's an unsatisfactory plate. Let me have it again, and I'll fix it.

Which, if you forget everything that already happened and what it says about the six-year-old, might seem reasonable.

Oh, and the six-year-old also says this:

The president will ignore the recommendation of the bipartisan Iraq Studly Group that he include Syria and Iran in an effort to staunch Iraqi bloodshed, the official said.

Translation: Screw you, Dad.

NOTE I wonder if any of the stenographers filing on this story are going to mention that Bush rejected the Bipartisan solution? Didn't think so.