He said something like, "Have you noticed that news about Iraq is no longer the top story? The reason is that whenever something happens in Iraq, we no longer go to Bremer or an American commander. We now turn to Iraqi leaders for commentary and response. That's because Iraqis are now in charge. So, what's going on in Iraq is of less interest to Americans. This is good. We've seen that coverage of Iraq doesn't help the Bush Administration."
He continued, "It would be most helpful if Bush had an Atlanta (reference to Abe Lincoln), but since he won't have that kind of victory, the best we can hope for is for people to think we're out of Iraq. People already think Bush has done a good job fighting terrorism. If they think we're also out of Iraq, they'll think he's good on foreign policy."