Lieberman: Bush turned corner on Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) — Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, whose vocal pro-war
support for President Bush has rankled fellow Democrats, emerged from
a White House meeting Friday saying the president has turned the
corner on Iraq in recent weeks.

Lieberman cited the substantial turnout in the Iraq elections this
week and Bush's four major speeches on the war as key reasons for the
turnaround.

"The last two weeks have been critically important and I believe may
be seen as a turning point in the war in Iraq and the war on
terrorism," Lieberman told reporters after he and a bipartisan group
of senators met with Bush and top administration officials on the war.
"I believe the president has begun a new conversation with the
American people, looking back and talking again about why we went into
Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein, why we remain there, why success in
Iraq is so critical to America's national security, and how we intend
to win," he said.

Lieberman has become a Bush administration favorite while partisan
sniping over the war has grown more intense.

He struck a nerve with many in his party last week when he scolded
anti-war Democrats for undermining Bush's credibility.

Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have praised Lieberman's Iraq
views in recent speeches. Last week, Lieberman met with Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.

Lieberman's unwavering support of Bush has sparked concern among some
Democrats that the Connecticut senator is undercutting his own party
as it struggles for a more unified voice on the war.

After Friday's White House meeting, Lieberman downplayed partisan
labels.

"The difference in this town — here in Washington — on the war is not
between Democrats and Republicans; it's between people who believe
essentially we've already lost in Iraq and it's time to get out — and
most of the rest of us who believe not only have we not lost, but
we're winning," he said.