] Washington -- President Bush portrays his position on
] Iraq as steady and unwavering as he represents Sen. John
] Kerry's stance as ambiguous and vacillating.
]
] "Mixed signals are the wrong signals,'' Bush said last
] week during a campaign stop in Bangor, Maine. "I will
] continue to lead with clarity, and when I say something,
] I'll mean what I say.''
]
] Yet, heading into the first presidential debate Thursday,
] which will focus on foreign affairs, there is much in the
] public record to suggest that Bush's words on Iraq have
] evolved -- or, in the parlance his campaign often uses to
] describe Kerry, flip-flopped.
]
] An examination of more than 150 of Bush's speeches, radio
] addresses and responses to reporters' questions reveal a
] steady progression of language, mostly to reflect
] changing circumstances such as the failure to discover
] weapons of mass destruction, the lack of ties between
] Iraq and the al Qaeda terrorist network and the growing
] violence of Iraqi insurgents.

NEWS ANALYSIS / Record shows Bush shifting on Iraq war / President's rationale for the invasion continues to evolve