If the midterm elections were about anything, it was that the American people want a new direction in Iraq. They just do. Even though any poll you can dream up will tell you that, it took a massive, humiliating, demoralizing electoral defeat to get through to Bush. He was, he claimed, finally, ready to listen to some new ideas. He had been given a landslide of a reality check, and it had been a long time coming. It was time to look at the facts, real facts and not just the Bush commissioned Fabri-Facts™, and make some hard decisions. He said that he was willing to listen, and that he was open to any ideas.

Any, except for those that disagree with him.

See, it’s the same old crap. The Iraq study group, headed by paternal aide James Baker, came looked into Iraq and came up with a series of recomendations, many of which involve troop reductions and redeployment. Did this concerted effort to define options for the region have any impact on the President? Observe:

“Success [for Iraq] is a country that governs, defends itself, that is a free society, that serves as an ally in this war on terror.”

“This is really the calling of our time — that is, to defeat these extremists and radicals.”

“Like most Americans, this administration wants to succeed in Iraq because we understand success in Iraq would help protect the United States in the long run.”

OK. So nothing definitive, but no real change in tone. No indication that he’s listening to anything. Those are slightly toned down versions of the same things he’s been saying for four years.

Expect Bush to give a big speech about this business sometime after Christmas, pending the conclusion of his nationwide, “listening tour”, which is really more of a national “remind everybody that Iraq Victory rhetoric is more important than the actual situation in Iraq tour”. Expect the speech to be disappointing. There is no reason to assume that he is any less clueless after suffering defeat. Only more defensive and shifty.