(White) House of Mirrors
A war effort with some big-time spin.

September 28, 2001 10:20 a.m.

ave you worried that Secretary of State Colin Powell is at odds with some members of the president's national-security team as they plan the war on terrorism? Don't bother. According to Newsweek, Powell is "at center stage" in the war effort. "Cool under fire, the quintessential crisis manager, Powell finds himself the go-to guy," Newsweek reports. And for now, the magazine says, "the president seems to be in Powell's corner," adding that the war is "being prosecuted with the kind of steely clarity and message control favored by the Secretary of State."

But maybe you weren't worried about Powell and instead feared that George W. Bush wasn't fully in charge of his own team. Relax. Six days after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, reports the Washington Post, Bush called in top aide Karen Hughes and told her he wanted to address a joint session of Congress. "I want to see a draft of that speech tonight," Bush said, according to the Post. "Mr. President, I think that's going to be difficult if not impossible," Hughes answered. The paper says that "Bush responded with a deadline: 7 p.m." Later, Bush "called in the writers...and gave them his own passionate version of the speech he wanted, off the cuff. 'They were scribbling,' Hughes said. 'He was making the case to them about why this is important.'"

At around the same time, reports the New York Times, Bush held a long war council at Camp David with the "principals," the top officials who are his primary advisers on war matters. After the meeting, when all had left, Bush summoned national-security adviser Condoleezza Rice for a "private conversation" in his cabin. According to "a senior White House aide" who spoke to the Times, Bush said simply, "Here's what I want to do." Then, as Rice began taking copious notes, the president laid out a multi-phase war plan, beginning with an assault on Osama bin Laden.

Now that's steely clarity, Secretary Powell.

No doubt the Bush White House staff is on a full-scale war footing. But there are times when it also appears to be on a full-scale spin footing. Last Sunday, when the Times and Post stories appeared, there had been a week of who's-up-who's-down speculation that centered on the apparent rift between Powell and deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz. But the Times and Post stories, plus the account that appeared the same day in Newsweek, suggest that we need not worry too much about Powell/Wolfowitz. These days, the real spin war is between Powell and the president himself.

After all, somebody had to tell reporters that the "cool under fire" Powell has become the "go-to guy" in the war effort. And somebody had to tell reporters about the "private conversation" the president had with Rice. With the stakes sky-high and reputations on the line, it appears that both camps are summoning reporters from the nation's premier news organizations to hand them one side of the story. And the papers are happy to pass it on.

So what is the truth? Who's up and who's down? Who knows? No doubt the Bush administration really is devoting all its energy to the war effort. But somewhere, amid all that work, they're finding time to keep the spin war going, too.