Surprise! US to send troops all along

At the dinner that immediately followed this week's NATO summit, Bush let it be known that the US is going to send more troops to Afghanistan...or at least the next president will. This from Defense Secretary Robert Gates:

"The president indicated that he expected in 2009 the United States would make a significant additional contribution. I think no matter who is elected president they would want to be successful in Afghanistan. So I think this was a very safe thing for him to say. I put this in front of the president as a possibility as something he ought to be willing to say and do. From my perspective, it was to allow him to come in behind President Sarkozy at the dinner and say 'We're going to do more, too.'"

And that is supposed to help Sarkozy out at home how?