And that misrepresentation was allowed to happen by the President. He allowed the media to frame the debate. He was purely reactionary. The times he would talk, he only put it in terms of what was good for the Iraqis. Boil it down and most Americans don't give a whit about Iraqis getting electricity or clean water. They want to know what's in it for them.
Excellent point, and I think it applies to domestic policy, too. Americans were never really made to understand how "tax cuts for the rich" go into their pockets. The president defaulted to a defensive Keynesian "stimulate the economy" idea instead of making a clear and consistent case for economic growth. I suppose he was afraid of the media calling him a friend of the rich, using the phrase "trickle down" and so forth.
Looking back, being more bold in explaining foreign and domestic policies would have given Americans something more to get behind.