Will There Be A September Surprise?

What is it about September that's keeping Helen Thomas awake here? Any one know?

Q The President emphasized September and he emphasized General Petraeus' report -- all week you moved away from September. Is it a real important date for us to decide things?

MR. SNOW: I think what the President is saying is --

Q Does he know that we have civilian rule in this country?

MR. SNOW: Yes. Do you?

Q I do.

MR. SNOW: Okay, good.

Q I'm not waiting for Petraeus.

MR. SNOW: Well, he does understand, however, that -- oh, so you're thinking what he's doing -- no, I'm not even going to get into that. What people want is a detailed accounting of what's going on in Iraq. And so --

Q But you guys set the date for September, you keep --

MR. SNOW: No, I think he actually -- General Petraeus originally mentioned that, and I don't want to try to -- he mentioned the month, and so --

Q Is it important, or not?

MR. SNOW: Look, what's important is for people to continue to take a look -- May is important; June is important; July is important; August is important; September is important. It's --

Q You're telling people to hold off on their opinions --

MR. SNOW: No, what I'm telling people is to keep their eyes open to the situation as it develops.

What the bleep does this mean? Our eyes have been open for a great long while...and the fact is we don't like what we are seeing. What will happen by September? Maybe some kind of troop draw down? But as we have come to know about the W, Rove and Co, this won't be done until the penultimate political advantage can be levered.