Bush close to deal with Congress

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Thursday he is close to an agreement with Congress to "speak with one voice" against Saddam Hussein, even as Democrats accused him of making the nation's security a political issue.\n"Democrats and Republicans refuse to live in a future of fear," Bush said in the Rose Garden, flanked by a bipartisan group of lawmakers supporting his plans to oust Saddam--with military force if necessary.\nBush made the remarks amid a backdrop of fingerpointing and name-calling that threaten negotiations on a congressional resolution giving the president authority to wage war against Saddam.\nHis remarks--though far short of an apology sought by Democrats--were meant to ease tensions and erase any doubts about his motives, White House officials said.\n"We're near an agreement. And soon we will speak with one voice," Bush said.\nSenate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt were less optimistic, saying at a news conference that there was no consensus on an anti-Iraq resolution and they didn't know if Congress could vote on the issue next week as planned. "I had expected we would have an agreement by now," Daschle said. "We don't."\nBush's appearance, organized at the last minute by the White House, came at the same time as the news conference held by the Democratic leaders.\nOn Monday, Bush challenged Democrats to back his homeland security plans and said the Senate--controlled by Democrats--is "not interested in the security of the American people." Though he has not backed off from that statement, Bush sounded a dramatically different tone Thursday.\n"We are engaged in a deliberate and civil and thorough discussion. We are moving toward a strong resolution. And all of us, and many others in Congress, are united in our determination to confront an urgent threat to America," he said.\nBush spoke shortly after Gephardt said the administration must "take security out of politics," saying a bitter partisan fight complicates efforts to find unity on Iraq.