http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/25/AR2005102501704.htmlIt was, perhaps, not the best possible time for the Republican Party to hold a soiree. The war in Iraq reached a macabre milestone yesterday afternoon as a 2,000th soldier was added to the list of the U.S. dead. Consumer confidence took a surprise tumble to a two-year low, the Conference Board announced. Support for the GOP fell to its lowest level in at least 13 years, according to a poll released by the Pew Research Center. All of Washington, meanwhile, was waiting for Friday's deadline for a prosecutor to say whether he is indicting top White House officials. And yet, there they were at the gilded Mellon Auditorium last night: the Republican Party's biggest donors, men in tuxedos and women in cocktail dresses, dining on Asian spoon canapes, orange carpaccio and seared mignon of beef, and listening to the soothing tones of a jazz band and a keynote address by President Bush. About 250 Republican Eagles -- those who have contributed $15,000 or more to the party -- and guests were in town for the Eagles' 30th-birthday dinner, which was expected to bring the party more than $1 million.
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Many of Bush's natural defenders are silenced: At the White House yesterday afternoon, Scott McClellan declared 11 times that he could say nothing about the CIA leak, because it's an "ongoing investigation." In case that gave away too much information, he added: "Just because I'm not commenting on it doesn't mean you should read anything into that one way or the other."
Even the RNC's Mehlman had been less than helpful, comparing Bush's standing this week to that of Ronald Reagan after Iran-contra, the loss of the Senate and the defeat of Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork.
But last night, Mehlman recovered. "Our economy remains strong!" he said. "Our deficit has dropped by almost $100 billion!" When his list of unmitigated triumph ended, Mehlman added: "None of this progress is an accident or a coincidence. It's just the result of an historic leader with a bold vision for our nation and our world." The Eagles crowed.