How Bush interprets intelligence

I’ve argued all along that “the intelligence” on whether Saddam had WMD was nowhere near a “slam dunk,” which was one reason why we couldn’t convince our allies and the U.N. to go to war. This administration has consistently belittled information that doesn’t support its pre-defined worldview.

So, has the administration learned anything from its earlier failures, or is it “staying the course” by continuing to belittle and ignore information that could cause it cognitive dissonance?

You decide. Here’s what Bush said on Tuesday about a recent National Intelligence Estimate, which reportedly painted a bleak picture of Iraq's near future, including the possibility of civil war:

"The CIA laid out several scenarios and said life could be lousy, life could be OK, life could be better, and they were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like."

Kerry’s response:

"Just guessing, America? The CIA? They're not just guessing. They're giving the president of the United States their best judgment. It's called an analysis."

Bush at a subsequent news conference: "I used an unfortunate word: 'guess.' I should have used 'estimate.'"