Editorial: Making a case for invasion?

Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2003 | 9:07 a.m.

White House officials, prior to the State of the Union address on Tuesday night, signaled that President Bush would focus on the economy instead of on the prospect of war against Iraq. That seemed to be a crafty political strategy by a White House intent on not letting history repeat itself. Bush's father was a successful wartime president, but it was his inability to show that he cared about the plight of ordinary Americans during a recession that allowed Bill Clinton to defeat him in 1992.

The president's address Tuesday didn't live up to its advance billing, however. Bush did spend roughly half of his time on domestic policy, but he offered few details on his proposals, such as a prescription drug benefit for seniors. And regarding the economy, Bush just rehashed his well-known views on why he believes long-term tax cuts would revive the economy. It would have been difficult in the best of circumstances to bring renewed focus to domestic initiatives since the administration is preparing for war.

Bush, who hasn't done enough to persuade the American people as to why an invasion of Iraq is necessary, made headway in advancing that cause on Tuesday. Bush provided a plausible narrative about the dangers posed by Iraq, noting how Saddam has refused to account for what happened to his country's weapons of mass destruction. In another encouraging sign, Bush said that Secretary of State Colin Powell would appear next Wednesday before the U.N. Security Council to offer "information and intelligence" to support his contention that Saddam not only has deceived U.N. weapons inspectors but that the dictator also has links to terrorist groups, including al-Qaida. Bush still has more work to do, but Tuesday night was a step in the right direction.