Yawn

CNN:

Bush is scheduled to make a Wednesday address that will launch a new series of speeches aimed at bolstering public support for the increasingly unpopular conflict.

As MSNBC reminds us:

In June, Bush delivered a prime-time address from Fort Bragg, N.C., on the first anniversary of Iraq's sovereignty. Later in the summer, the president tried to blunt the message of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who camped outside his Texas ranch.

And that doesn't mention his speeches during the campaign last year, either. You remember, the set of five major speeches that were going to sway public opinion on the war?

I'm not sure why the President and his staff think another round of speeches which will no doubt feature many of the same themes is really going to help. As I've argued before, it's not the repetition that's important, but the message that gets repeated. Bush's message has fallen pretty flat with most of the public as of late. There's no reason to think this latest volley is going to give him any air.

*UPDATE* These reports, which will no doubt be mixed with news stories of the President's speech, ceratinly won't help his case:

Gunmen opened fire on a minibus north of Baghdad on Wednesday, killing eight people, police said.