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A subdued and at times humble President George W. Bush delivered his seventh State of the Union speech to a sceptical audience Wednesday morning, pleading for patience over Iraq because "it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle".
Describing an Iraq riven by a "tragic escalation of sectarian rage and reprisal" he conceded "this is not the fight we entered in Iraq but it is the fight we are in". Most Democrats sat stony faced as he urged: "So let us find our resolve and turn events towards victory."
enator Jim Webb, in a televised Democratic response afterwards, said: "The majority of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought; nor does the majority of our military."
The freshman Virginia senator, whose victory clinched the Senate for Democrats, echoed a majority of his party and a sizeable number of Republicans when he called for "a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq's cities, and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq".
But there was thunderous Democratic applause when Mr Bush opened magnanimously by acknowledging his party's defeat last November and the election of a new speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
"Tonight, I have a high privilege and distinct honour of my own as the first President to begin the State of the Union message with these words - Madam Speaker," he said.
In domestic policy, Mr Bush told Americans, a year after he had said the US was "addicted to oil", that they had to endure a 20 per cent cut in petrol usage over the next decade.
"For too long our nation has been dependent on foreign oil," he said. "And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists - who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments ... raise the price of oil ... and do great harm to our economy."
He proposed that US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an emergency stock of oil, be doubled to 1.5 billion barrels oil by 2027 to guard against disruptions from natural disaster or terrorist attack.
Increasingly persuaded by arguments about the "the serious challenge of global climate change", he asked Congress for powers to launch the first major changes to American auto fuel economy standards since the 1970s.
The White House said the plan would cut annual emissions from cars, four-wheel drive vehicles and small trucks by as much as 10 percent, the equivalent of eliminating the annual emissions of 26 million cars.
Mr Bush's annual address in the chamber of the House of Representatives, televised live to the nation, came as his standing in the opinion polls slumped to well under 30 per cent, the lowest of any president just before a State of the Union since Richard Nixon in 1974.
But despite a more realistic acknowledgement of setbacks and failures than in previous years, he offered a vigorous defence of his decision to send 21,500 more troops into Iraq.
He declared the "to win the war on terror we must take the fight to the enemy".
Senator Hillary Clinton, vying to become Mr Bush's successor, rose to her feet and clapped at this point while Senator Barack Obama, also running for the White House, remained seated with his hands in his lap.
Mr Bush continued: "From the start, America and our allies have protected our people by staying on the offense. The enemy knows that the days of comfortable sanctuary, easy movement, steady financing, and free flowing communications are long over. For the terrorists, life since 9/11 has never been the same."
A "surge" of more troops offered "the best chance of success", he insisted.
Lt Gen David Petraeus, due to be the new US commander in Iraq, had earlier told senators that the situation there was "dire" and an improvement would be neither quick nor easy.
In another gesture to Democrats, Mr Bush said he would set up a "special advisory council on the war on terror" made up of congressional leaders. "We will share ideas for how to position America to meet every challenge that confronts us. And we will show our enemies abroad that we are united in the goal of victory."