REITERATE: President Bush, seeking to show he has not abandoned Iraqi’s prime minister, offered a fresh endorsement Wednesday of Nouri al-Maliki.

AFFIRMATION: Bush’s words of support were intended to dispel the impression he gave some people Tuesday that he was distancing himself from al-Maliki before a new assessment of conditions in Iraq.

BACKLASH: The prime minister, chafing over Bush’s earlier comments, said on Wednesday that his government “can find friends elsewhere.”