ABC News reports that White House is “in panic mode” over the recent defections of Republican senators on the President’s Iraq policy:
Senior Bush administration officials are deep in discussion about how to find a compromise that will “appease Democrats and keep wobbly Republicans on board,” a senior White House official tells ABC News.
The official said the White House “is in panic mode,” despite Monday’s on-the-record briefing by White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, who played down any concern over the recent spate of GOP senators who have spoken out publicly in support of changing course in Iraq.
The Republican defections are seen as “a crack in the dike,” according to the senior White House official, and National Security Adviser Steven Hadley is most concerned.