holding out for "total victory," whatever that is

from the AP, Bush Teleconference With Soldiers Staged:

"So long as I'm the president, we're never going to back down, we're never going to give in, we'll never accept anything less than total victory," Bush said.

The President made these remarks in a "carefully scripted" teleconference, where Pres. Bush played the part of interviewer to a carefully selected and coached group of soldiers. My question for the President: What is "total victory"? I hope it doesn't have anything to do with electoral politics and the timing of the 2006 elections here in the U.S. But I won't bet on it.

As I fill in the title on this entry, another thought occurs to me: I hope Bush's idea of "total victory" doesn't fall in line with total victory related to, say, a game of chess. In a game of chess, you don't have to wipe out every single one of your opponent's pieces before taking the king. It may be fun, sometimes, but it's mostly mean-spirited. To make the same effort when real lives are at stake is, to use a word the President can understand, evil.