Following a meeting with several members of Congress Thursday, President Bush attempted to backtrack his words earlier in the week, during which he painted Democrats as frail when it comes to issues of national security.
President Bush declared in his Thursday speech outside the White House that both Republicans and Democrats value national security and asked Congress to give him broad power to take military action against Iraq.
\The security of our country is the commitment of both political parties and the responsibility of both elected branches of the government,"" he said.
Bush's speech contradicted his comments Monday when he claimed that members of the Democratic-lead Senate lacked concern and interest in the support of the war against Iraq. At the time Bush was specifically addressing the Senate's impeding progress on giving him the ability to pick and choose members of a new Cabinet-level Homeland Security Department.
""The Senate is more interested in special interests in Washington and not interested in the security of the American people,"" Bush said Monday.
Although he spoke of a unified nation, Bush never officially offered an apology or denounced his earlier comments.
The Administration and Congress still appear to be divided amongst themselves on the issue of going to war with Iraq, even though the new war resolution no longer gives Bush power to restore ""international security and peace in the region,"" a major sticking point for a number of Democrats.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said he was still upset by President Bush's implications that Democrats were not as supportive and concerned with issues of national security as Republicans.
""This was made much harder by what happened over the course of the last several days with the politicization of the issue and allegations that continue to be made,"" Daschle said of Bush's request, following his own meeting with several Democratic Senators.
U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., said Wednesday during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on Iraq that he was still hesitant towards the possibility of war.
""I remain skeptical about the need to take unilateral action now and to accept all of the associated costs of that decision,"" he said. ""I am surprised and disappointed that, after months of heated rhetoric, the Administration could not manage a more thoughtful and focused proposal than the language we received last week.""
Despite the controversies and disagreements, President Bush assured the American people that leaders of both parties will pull together and present a united front to the world.
""We're near an agreement. And soon we will speak with one voice, "" President Bush said.
