Bush Admits Iraq is Another Vietnam...Kinda Sorta.

COOPER: North Korea, of course, isn't the only crisis the president is facing. In Iraq, October is on track to be the deadliest month, with 68 U.S. troop deaths so far.

In his column today, "New York Times" columnist Tom Friedman wrote that we might be seeing the equivalent of a Tet Offensive in Iraq. It is that kind of comparison to Vietnam that has, until now, drawn fire from the White House, but not tonight.

CNN's Elaine Quijano reports on the surprising shift in the White House rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Until now, the Bush White House has forcefully resisted any comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam. Yet in an ABC interview broadcast tonight, President Bush allowed this...

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: Tom Friedman wrote in "The New York Times" this morning that what we might be seeing now is the Iraqi equivalent of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in 1968.

Tony Snow this morning said he may be right. Do you agree?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He could be right. There's certainly a stepped up level of violence, and we're heading into an election.

QUIJANO: During the Tet Offensive, Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces launched a series of attacks on American troops. Even though it was a stunning military defeat for the guerrillas, Americans were shocked by the intense images of war.

And historians view Tet as the turning point, when public support for the conflict in Vietnam and President Johnson began to wane.

Nearly 40 years later, that history is not lost on President Bush.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But what's your gut tell you? BUSH: George, my gut tells me that they have all along being trying to inflict enough damage that we leave. And the leaders of al Qaeda have made that very clear.

QUIJANO: President Bush regularly acknowledges the effect of the war on the American psyche. This from a news conference last week.

BUSH: I fully understand the American people are seeing unspeakable violence on their TV screens. These are tough times in Iraq.

QUIJANO: In his recent comments, the president has argued that the violence there is being stoked by al Qaeda. Yet Mr. Bush rejected the notion that American troops are getting caught in a civil war. Civil acknowledging the bloodshed in sobering terms.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But whatever you call it, aren't American men and women now dying to prevent Sunnis and Shiites to kill one another?

BUSH: No, George, it's dangerous. You're right. No matter what you call it. The fundamental question is, are we on our way to achieving a goal, which is an Iraq that can defend itself, sustain itself and govern itself and be an ally in the war on terror in the heart of the Middle East?

QUIJANO (on camera): President Bush, of course, believes the answer to that is yes. Tonight, the president said he would be patient as Iraq's new government works to establish order. But without giving a time frame, he also made clear his patience has limits.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.

The question begs to be asked...does Bush even know what the Tet Offensive was? My guess is he probably thinks it's some football strategy from the Texas A&M playbook.

Good news is that we only have 823 days until the jackass is out of office.

Thanks to All Things Anderson for the original screencap.