If you liked George W. Bush as "the decider," you're going to love him as "the decision maker."

Meeting today with Lt. Gen. David Petraeus and other military leaders, the president said that he has "picked the plan" that he thinks is "most likely to succeed" in Iraq, and he complained -- as he has before -- that members of Congress are criticizing his new way forward "before it's even had a chance to work."

"I'm the decision maker," he said. "I had to come up with a way forward that precluded disaster."

The president's declaration comes on the heels of Nancy Pelosi's report on a meeting she had at the White House recently. Pelosi says she asked Bush why he thought this "surge" would work when two others have failed. The president's response: "Because I told them it had to."