In the end Bush did actually come out and admit that there was no evidence for any kind of link between Saddams and his followers and Al Qaida prior to the war (though, of course, there probably is now, thanks to Bush and Blair).

But maybe the junk news media didn't give that as much coverage as they had the earlier times, when he implied pretty strongly that there was such a connection.

It seesm fair to assume, as has been suggested earlier in the thread, that there is a deliberate attempt by some major media outlets to manipulate public opinion in a way that helps Bush. However I still feel you can only be manipulated in this kind of way if you actually want to be manipulated.