 Westmoreland was even more emphatic in his assertions . At an address at the National Press Club on 21 November he reported that , as of the end of 1967 , the communists were " unable to mount a major offensive ... I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning , today he is certainly losing ... We have reached an important point when the end begins to come into view . " By the end of the year the administration 's approval rating had indeed crept up by eight percent , but an early January Gallup poll indicated that forty @-@ seven percent of the American public still disapproved of the President 's handling of the war . The American public , " more confused than convinced , more doubtful than despairing ... adopted a ' wait and see ' attitude . " During a discussion with an interviewer from Time magazine , Westmoreland defied the communists to launch an attack : " I hope they try something , because we are looking for a fight . " 
