After US intelligence painted a grim picture of George W. Bush's plan for Iraq and as a congressional rebuke loomed, the US president sought bipartisan help from Democrats on bringing the war to an end.
Gone was Bush's insistence upon being "the decider" on Iraq policy as he addressed Democrats of the House of Representatives which, like the Senate, is under Democratic control largely thanks to voter impatience with Bush's highly unpopular wartime performance.
"I put out a plan that has caused a lot of debate on Iraq," Bush said of his war strategy, about which doubts were raised by a stark review of the war situation in a report from Washington's 16 intelligence agencies on Friday.
"I listened to many members here. I listened to members of my own party. I listened to the military and came up with a plan that I genuinely believe has the best chance of succeeding," he told Democrats meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia, south of Washington, on Saturday.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the crowd: "The choice is bipartisanship or stalemate," The Washington Post reported Sunday.
And she told lawmakers that "if it appears likely that Bush wants to take the country to war against Iran, the House would take up a bill to deny him the authority to do so," the Post quoted Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly as saying.
BUSH HOWEVER MADE NO MENTION THE CENTERPIECE OF HIS NEW WAR PLAN: the addition of 21,500 new troops to US forces in Iraq. Most Democrats and even some members of Bush's Republican Party appear poised to adopt a non-binding resolution next week opposing the troop "surge."
Last week Senator Arlen Specter, a Republican, reminded the president that he "is not the sole decider" on war policy.
Bush spoke in Williamsburg a day after the issue of the new official National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq. In the parts of the report released to the public, Iraq was described as on the brink of chaos and facing more sectarian upheaval and institutional collapse if US forces withdraw soon. Bush was not only more conciliatory over Iraq at the House Democrats meeting Saturday.
Faced with opposition control of all of Congress, he sought bipartisan cooperation on retirement funds, medical care, education, taxes, energy and immigration.
Unmentioned in Williamsburg were matters dear to Bush when Republicans controlled Congress, such as banning abortion and same-sex marriage. "You know, I welcome debate in a time of war, and I hope you know that," Bush said.
He insisted that he does not believe "that if you don't happen to agree with me, you don't share the same sense of patriotism I do. You can get that thought out of your mind, if that's what some believe."
Bush found common ground with the Democrats on the war, in wanting Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to take responsibility for ensuring his country's security.
"I do know we agree on some things, and that is that the Maliki government is going to have to show strong leadership," he said to warm applause.
The president also risked little contradiction in his final comment on Iraq: "I have made it clear to the Iraqi government, just like I made it clear to the American people: our commitment is not open-ended."
That may even have pleased some of the 50 demonstrators outside the resort who held placards saying: "Out of Iraq."
In Congress, a compromise was agreed late Wednesday among a handful of prominent Democrats and Republicans, apparently signalling that momentum was building for a text that would rally support from a majority of Democrats and some Republicans.
The text, penned by influential Republican Senator John Warner, says the Senate disagrees with Bush's plan but does not threaten to cut off funding for the war.
Some Democrats wanted to see much stronger language while Republican leaders were pressing their members to back the White House and head off an embarrassing setback.
While some Democrats said it was crucial to draw support from Republicans to send a clear political message to the president, others said there was too much at stake to allow for any watered-down measures.
The White House on Saturday condemned a grisly suicide attack in central Baghdad that left 130 people dead when a trucker detonated a bomb near a bustling market.