With less than one week to prepare, the World Affairs Council offered Philadelphia the memorable holiday gift of a presidential visit. George W. Bush explained the Administration's Iraq policy before a sold out crowd of Council members and their guests on December 12, 2005. Reiterating his belief that "the only way we can lose is if we lose our nerve," the President outlined his plan for victory.

Then Mr. Bush did something he hadn't done in a long time — he took questions from the audience. When asked to estimate the number of Iraqis who had died since the U.S. invasion two and a half years ago, the President replied, "30,000." The 30,000 figure was apparently the first time the Administration has provided the public with a specific number of Iraqi casualties. And that number was heard around the globe.

President Bush's visit gave the World Affairs Council unprecedented worldwide attention. The Council received e-mail from as far away as Australia, and even Iraq. Members of the national and international media covered the event, which was broadcast in its entirety by C-SPAN.

Buntzie Churchill renewed an acquaintance with an old friend of the Council, NBC news anchor Brian Williams, who was shadowing the president for a news broadcast.

Whether members who attended the President's presentation agree or disagree with the current policy in Iraq, the event lived up to the Council's maxim, "In a democracy, agreement is not essential; participation is."

The President's visit was the jewel in the crown of Council events during 2005, which included TIME's Person of the Year, Bono.

Read a transcript of Monday's address.

It all started with the World Affairs Council...

In her New York Times "White House Letter" published on March 20, 2006, columnist Elisabeth Bumiller notes that President Bush's "new approach" of answering unscripted questions actually commenced with his appearance before Council members last December. Bumiller writes:

"The new approach began in Philadelphia in mid-December when Mr. Bush made a speech about Iraq to the World Affairs Council...White House officials...reasoned that there was little to lose and much to gain by opening up...People did pay attention that day in Philadelphia, when Mr. Bush said in response to the first question that about 30,000 Iraqis had been killed in Iraq since the American-led invasion in 2003. It was the first time that Mr. Bush had publicly given an estimate of Iraqi deaths..."

Read the full article, "Hardballs Replace Softballs And Bush Takes a Few Swings" here.

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