A question about Bush's deviation from a "Stay the Course" strategy in Iraq

[FVZA_Colonel]

Listening to reports of some of his campaign stops, it does not seem like he has actually done this. My question, though, is this: was there any indication in the weeks leading up to that point that he was changing his mind? Were there any news stories about how President Bush had begun to entertain doubts about his strategy in Iraq, even if he was still comitted to it? Or was it simply an abrupt 180?

I do not remember seeing any such reports about a gradual changing of his mind, and it seems to me that such a major change of opinion, however hollow it has proven to be, could only come about after many weeks of careful deliberation.