It seems President Bush has dubbed these desperate times. With his approval rating at an all-time low, an embarrassing scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison and the deadliest 60 days since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Bush needs to do something to improve opinions of himself — and what better way than a speech that fails to say anything important.

Such was the case with Bush’s speech at the United States Army War College on Monday, where he vaguely outlined how the United States would turn over power to an Iraqi government on June 30. What was supposed to be the first of six speeches about a five-week plan to establish Iraqi sovereignty turned into a campaign speech to boost Bush’s approval rating.

In order to gain back the support of the American public, Bush used the speech to show how the administration is trying to work more with the United Nations to ensure a safe and democratic Iraq. Before the war, one in three Americans supported action in Iraq only with a U.N. resolution, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll — in other words, a third of potential voters. Now, by invoking the United Nations to determine the makeup of the new Iraqi government and authorize a multinational force, Bush wants to attract those people back to his side before November.

The new Iraqi government will be determined by the U.N. special envoy. A national council will oversee the chosen government officials and represent the “diversity” of the nation. Although the notion of bringing all the groups together is admirable, it raises questions as to who will determine what represents the diversity of the country. In true political fashion, Bush also failed to mention that the Kurds have threatened not to participate in the new government if they do not receive one of the top two government positions, making a representative council extremely difficult.

Bush also didn’t articulate how life under the new Iraqi government would be any different than now, considering the high numbers of troops still remaining in the streets. The people of Iraq are unlikely to see the new government as legitimate, considering the main authority they will continue to obey will be the soldiers with guns patrolling the streets, who answer to an unelected government appointed by foreigners.

Bush also used his 33-minute oration to tie the war in Iraq to terrorism, noting the man who is suspected of beheading a young American was an al-Qaida associate and by suggesting a free Iraq will remove “a source of terrorist violence and instability in the Middle East.” Bush knows the public trusts him more with terrorism than they do his likely Democratic opponent John Kerry, and he intends to use it to his advantage.

If nothing else, viewers should take away one message from Bush’s speech: A vote against Bush is a vote for terrorism.