Watching President Bush’s speech last night reminded me of a cartoon from the First World War. Two terrified British Tommies are huddled in a shell hole, with bombs exploding all around them. One says to the other, “Well, if you knows of a better ‘ole, go to it!”

That, I think, was the gist of the President’s message. We’re in a very bad situation in Iraq, but withdrawal is not an option. The Democrats know this as well as the Republicans. If America pulls out prematurely, and Iraq descends into all-out civil war, the whole Middle East may go up in flames. If that happens, America’s oil supplies will not only be interrupted, but terrorist attacks on the U.S. will almost certainly increase.

If the American people then begin to ask, “Who lost Iraq?” the Democrats do not want the finger pointed at them. They want political cover. So Mr. Bush offered it. He made just enough concessions in his speech to allow the Democrats to cooperate with the administration without losing face.

My guess is that he’s bought himself a little more time. But if the proposals he made last night do not produce greater stability in Iraq and fewer American casualties in the near future, the pressures for a U.S. withdrawal will once again begin to mount.

As a speechwriter, there was something else I noticed about the speech, and that was Mr. Bush’s use of alliteration. Whenever I give a lecture to students on speechwriting techniques, I always mention alliteration, and I always use a recent example. It’s never hard to find one. All I have to do is turn to the last major speech given by the President or some other national political figure. Alliteration is always there. It was there last night when Mr. Bush spoke of providing a “hopeful alternative to the hateful ideology of the enemy,” and again when he said that our cause in Iraq is “noble and necessary.”

Good words, Mr. President. But can you back them up with deeds?