A senior Bush adviser said that, in fact, was the last thing the American public wanted now.

"I think everybody feels that we gave birth to a baby and never got to hold it," one Bush adviser said.

"It got to the point that something had to be done," said a senior Bush adviser.

"We want it badly, but not enough to make a bad deal," the Bush adviser said.

"Let me put it to you this way," said one Bush adviser.

"We understand he's got his own race to run," one senior Bush adviser said.

Some Bush advisers contend that over time this strategy can work.

"He knew the moment would come to compromise," a top Bush adviser said the other day.

The goal, a Bush adviser said, was not only to lower expectations but to avoid any definition of success.

A senior Bush adviser says that two issues he had worried about have faded.

A senior Bush adviser said that, in fact, was the last thing the American public wanted now.

"I think everybody feels that we gave birth to a baby and never got to hold it," one Bush adviser said.

"It got to the point that something had to be done," said a senior Bush adviser.

"We want it badly, but not enough to make a bad deal," the Bush adviser said.

"Let me put it to you this way," said one Bush adviser.

"We understand he's got his own race to run," one senior Bush adviser said.

Some Bush advisers contend that over time this strategy can work.

"He knew the moment would come to compromise," a top Bush adviser said the other day.

The goal, a Bush adviser said, was not only to lower expectations but to avoid any definition of success.

A senior Bush adviser says that two issues he had worried about have faded.