Here are two different reactions to the president’s speech in Nampa, one from a Republican congressional candidate, the other from a Democratic state legislator:

Former state Sen. Sheila Sorensen, R-Boise, who is among a half-dozen Republicans seeking the 1st District congressional seat, said, “The President was on the mark with his address today in Nampa. He’s showing strong leadership at a time when our country needs it the most. Terrorism is not going away until we make it go away, and right now the battleground is in Iraq. To get a sense of terrorism in action – and what we are fighting against – all you have to do is listen to the news or read the newspapers. Iraq is a beehive for terrorism activity. What makes the terrorists so dangerous is they have no regard for human life, including their own. You still hear debate on whether we should be there. But the rules changed when terrorists slammed planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I trust the President. He’s making the right decisions for America.”

State Rep. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, said Democrats have long suspected that the president has no plans and no intention to bring American troops home from the fighting in Iraq, and that he confirmed that in his speech. “Bush flatly said that so long as he is president, U.S. troops will stay in Iraq,” said a press release from the Idaho Democratic Party and LeFavour. “Some people who attended the speech were stunned that the president would make such a statement to the families of soldiers without offering any idea about when or how America will win the peace and bring our troops home.” LeFavour, who attended the speech, said, “He doesn't know what else to do besides continuing to throw lives at the conflict. He doesn’t have any other plan -- no diplomatic alternative, no exit strategy.”