I thought that President Bush’s remarks last night was a well-crafted presentation of the realities in Iraq and his delivery was fine. But what made the speech effective was the setting: a room full of troops at Fort Bragg. By putting the president in front of a military audience, which ensured little if any interruptions for applause, the White House removed all semblance of political theater, which would have been unwelcome given the solemnity of the occasion and the need to convey seriousness of purpose (you don’t typically get applause out of troops unless you are commending their fellows for service or pledging to vanquish the foe). At the same time, however, the choice put the president in the same shot as the armed forces he commands, thus visually combating the impression — fueled by selective media reporting — that there is significant military disaffection about the war in Iraq. That’s not true, as folks on the ground will tell you, but specific refutation could look like an attempt to politicize the military. So let the picture contain the thousand words.

As for the content, the president’s frequent allusions to September 11 is driving Democrats and commentators batty. I suspect that was the intention. The case for the war has to be made repeatedly and pointedly, and it has to center on the threat of Islamofascist terrorism and the desirability to kill them over there rather than trying to catch them over here. That’s a message that average voters, unnerved by casualty reports and high gas prices and distracted by summertime, can and will respond to.