Playing Politics on Veterans Day

President Bush passed on the traditional wreath laying at Arlington national cemetary and instead used Veterans Day to launch a political attack on his critics (left).

Using his familiar backdrop of service members in uniform, the President delivered a stump speech he'd given at least three times in October, before breaking into an attack on critics of his Iraq policies.

Those policies were largely drafted by former Vice Presidential Chief of Staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby -- now under indictment for his part in the CIA Leak case. The Iraq War and the indictment have contributed to low poll numbers for President Bush.

A new AP/Ipsos poll out just this morning his approval rating was at 37% -- similar to other recent polls. The poll showed 82% of Americans describing the President as "stubborn."

Earlier this week, CNN reported that the administration planned to use familiar tactics -- shifting the blame for going to war with Iraq.

In his statements today, the President suggested the people critical of his policies "didn't support the liberation of Iraq."

The President also claimed Democrats who voted to go to war in Iraq had the same intelligence that he did. And the President denied he manipulated intelligence.

Congress, by law, does not have the same access to CIA intel as the White House. While the CIA is an independent agency, it answers to the Executive Branch -- which has the authority to decide what intel to pass along to Congress. The Legislative branch has oversight responsibilities over the CIA.

Last week, a CIA document was declassified showing that the CIA discredited claims of a connection between al Qaeda and Iraq in February, 2002. But President Bush himself still referred to the non-existent connection as real for at least eight months afterwards. (WashPost)