Thursday, January 11, 2007
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Compiled by Stephen Bach CNN Washington Bureau Making news today... Bush recognized that the progress of the war is "unacceptable to the American people -- and it is unacceptable to me," adding, "Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me." (CNN.com) See the clip, "The Real Romney?" here. See Romney's response here President's Schedule: Before departing for Georgia, Bush will present the Medal of Honor to the parents of Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham, who died two years ago after he jumped on a grenade in Iraq, saving the lives of his fellow Marines. Also on the Political Radar: Rice will also appear before the House Foreign Affairs Committee at 2 pm ET. ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) IRAQ PROGRESS IS "UNACCEPTABLE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE -- AND IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO ME": Linking the fight in Iraq with the greater war on terror, President Bush told the nation there is "no magic formula for success in Iraq" but that failure there "would be a disaster for the United States." But he also warned Iraqi leaders that "America's commitment is not open-ended." Speaking from the White House Wednesday night as about 50 protesters gathered outside, Bush said he will increase American forces by more than 20,000, the vast majority of them coming from "five brigades [that] will be deployed to Baghdad." Bush recognized that the progress of the war is "unacceptable to the American people -- and it is unacceptable to me," adding, "Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me." CNN.com: Bush on Iraq: Commitment 'not open-ended' MORE U.S. TROOPS... "IRAQI GOVERNMENT DOES NOT REALLY WANT THEM": As President Bush challenges public opinion at home by committing more American troops, he is confronted by a paradox: an Iraqi government that does not really want them. The Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has not publicly opposed the American troop increase, but aides to Mr. Maliki have been saying for weeks that the government is wary of the proposal. They fear that an increased American troop presence, particularly in Baghdad, will be accompanied by a more assertive American role that will conflict with the Shiite government's haste to cut back on American authority and run the war the way it wants. New York Times: Promising Troops Where They Aren't Really Wanted DEMS SAY THEY'LL "DERAIL FUNDING" FOR PLAN: Senior House Democrats said yesterday that they will attempt to derail funding for President Bush's proposal to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, setting up what could become the most significant confrontation between the White House and Congress over military policy since the Vietnam War. Senate Democrats at the same time will seek bipartisan support for a nonbinding resolution opposing the president's plan, possibly as early as next week, in what some party officials see as the first step in a strategy aimed at isolating Bush politically and forcing the beginning of a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from the conflict. Washington Post: Democrats Aim to Block Funds for Plan CENTRIST BAUCUS SAYS HE'S INTERESTED IN KENNEDY PLAN: As Senate Democrats worked to coalesce behind a resolution rejecting President Bush's plan to bring 21,000 more troops to Iraq in advance of last night's presidential address, one of the caucus' most influential centrists called for redeployment and expressed interest in Sen. Edward Kennedy's (D-Mass.) bid to seek congressional approval for the coming "surge." Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the Finance Committee chairman who has lent his political capital to Bush's tax cuts and Medicare drug benefit, yesterday said the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was a mistake and denounced the White House plan to escalate the U.S. presence there. The Hill: Baucus embraces Kennedy line on troop withdrawal WH '08 DEMS "ALMOST UNIFORMLY IN FAVOR" OF TROOP REDUCTION: The growing field of Democratic presidential candidates is almost uniformly in favor of reducing the U.S. troop presence in Iraq - the reverse of President Bush's plan. Most Republicans stand behind Bush. Two of the most prominent Democrats considering a run for the White House - Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. - said Wednesday that Bush is offering the wrong plan and called for pressure to change that approach. Both said the president should respond to voters' concerns about the Iraq war... John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic running mate, and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack have gone a step further, calling on Congress to block funding for a troop increase. But Vilsack said he is wary of holding back funds to try to force the return of troops already deployed in Iraq. AP via Yahoo! News: Most in Democratic field want troop cuts PROSPECTIVE GOP CANDIDATES ALSO WEIGH IN: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, ended weeks of dodging questions on the issue by announcing Wednesday that he would support a troop increase. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) said he opposed it, a sign that Republicans may not be as reluctant to distance themselves from Bush as they once were... For months, the only probable presidential candidate to support a troop increase was Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who made it a signature issue long before Bush threw his support to the idea. Other Republican aspirants kept their distance from the proposal, which is supported by 12% of the public, a recent Gallup Poll said. Los Angeles Times: Throwing their stance in the ring WAGE HIKE PASSES IN HOUSE: The House yesterday overwhelmingly approved the first increase in the federal minimum wage in nearly a decade, boosting the wages of the lowest-paid American workers from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years. The 315 to 116 vote could begin the process of ending Congress's longest stretch without a minimum-wage increase since the mandatory minimum was created in 1938. In the past decade, inflation has depleted the value of the minimum wage to the lowest level in more than 50 years. Senate Democratic leaders promise to press for a vote on their own minimum-wage legislation this month. Washington Post: House Passes Increase in Minimum Wage to $7.25 "THE DAYS OF SMOKE-FILLED ROOMS IN THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL ARE OVER": Democrats banned smoking inside the House on Wednesday. Then they quickly congratulated themselves, squeezing as much symbolism out of the moment as they could. "The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over," the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, declared. Whether Democrats are any less inclined to make backroom deals than Republicans, the new majority will be remembered for bringing the rules of the House into line with those in the rest of the District of Columbia, numerous states and corporations, several European countries and all major airlines. And it did so with surprisingly little outcry from the smoking crowd. New York Times: House Bans Smoking, and Few Complain BYRD GIVES REID "A TONGUE-LASHING" FOR CLOSING VOTE EARLY: Just days into his tenure as majority leader, Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) received a tongue-lashing from Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) for a decision to end a vote before the senior statesman had cast his "yea" or "nay." Byrd, who has served in the Senate since 1958 and is a noted stickler for the rules and etiquette that guide the chamber, was unable to make it to the floor in the 15 minutes allotted for a vote yesterday -- his first missed vote since March. "The leadership arbitrarily closed the vote before I could get to the floor," Byrd told the Associated Press. "That is not the way legislation is done in a body such as ours." Washington Post: Reid Runs Tight Ship, Leaves Byrd Behind D.C.'S NORTON SEES HER FIRST VOTE ON HORIZON: When Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) spoke on the House floor Tuesday, she couldn't help but get a little sentimental. Norton, who had just introduced a bill that would give the District of Columbia a full-voting seat in the House, reflected on her family's long history in Washington, D.C., from her father to her grandfather to her great-grandfather, who came to the city after escaping from a Virginia slave plantation in the 1850s. More than 150 years later, Norton said she hopes she soon will be able to honor her great-grandfather's memory in a unique way. "I wonder what a man, who lived as a slave in the District, and others like him, would think if he could know that his great-granddaughter might be the first to cast the first full vote for the District of Columbia in the House of Representatives," Norton said. "I hope to have the special honor of casting the vote I have sought for 16 years." Roll Call: Norton Prepping to Cast D.C.'s First House Vote TRAFICANT, CUNNINGHAM, NEY ELIGIBLE FOR PENSIONS: James A. Traficant Jr., the former Democratic congressman convicted of racketeering and taking bribes, is wiling away prison time painting colorful pictures but also able to collect a congressional pension of nearly $40,000 a year. He is one of about 20 former senators and congressmen with felony rap sheets who can receive the taxpayer-financed benefit... Other recent convicts include former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a California Republican convicted of graft and imprisoned last year, and former Rep. Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican convicted last year of corruption charges tied to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Cunningham is eligible for about $36,000 a year, while Ney is in line for a $29,000 annual pension, according to estimates from the National Taxpayers Union (NTU). Washington Times: A sweet deal for 'official' felons BURNS LANDS LOBBYING JOB: Former Sen. Conrad Burns, whose ties to lobbyists helped sink his re-election bid, has landed at a new workplace: a Washington lobbying firm. Burns will work for his former chief of staff, Leo Giacometto, at the firm Gage, which has lobbied for Montana interests and several national technology companies, often making headlines for its connections to Burns and his staff... Burns won't be able to become a lobbyist just yet, as Senate rules prevent former members from lobbying their ex-colleagues for one year. The Senate is now considering ethics legislation - partly prompted by the Abramoff scandal - that would bump that period to two years. AP via Yahoo! News: Former Sen. Burns hired at lobbying firm "NOBODY'S HOLDING HIS BREATH" FOR DNC DECISION: There's a reason Denver hasn't hosted the Democratic National Convention in almost 100 years: It's just not a union-friendly town. That much became evident after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) again postponed its decision on whether Denver or New York will be the venue for its 2008 convention, thanks to a recent labor uprising in the Mile High City. With all the labor trouble in Denver, Democrats might be tempted to scrap the whole idea and head for New York, but there's trouble in the Big Apple, too. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg hinted that he doesn't want to host the event, saying that the city was tapped out after hosting the Republican National Convention in 2004. Washington Times: 2008 destination unknown '08 DEM CANDIDATES INVITED TO WINTER MEETING: Democratic presidential hopefuls will have their first candidate forum early next month when the party convenes its winter meetings, the Daily News has learned. "This is their kind of coming-out party," said a source familiar with planning for the Democratic National Committee's Feb. 1-3 gathering in Washington. All the presumed candidates are being invited, but the source was unable to say who has accepted and who hasn't. "I expect they'll all be there. These meetings have launched candidates in the past," the source said. New York Daily News: Dems plan Feb. confab on White House hopes IL SPEAKER WANTS TO MOVE UP PRIMARY TO HELP OBAMA: House Speaker Michael Madigan on Wednesday proposed advancing Illinois' 2008 presidential primary to Feb. 5, a move aimed at bolstering a potential White House bid by potential home-state candidate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama. Madigan, also the state's Democratic chairman, said advancing the primary from its scheduled March 18 date would inject a large, more diverse and representative state into the front end of the presidential nominating process—and a state more beneficial to an Obama candidacy... Madigan said he had not consulted Obama about a primary date change. But the speaker said, "I expect he's going to run so we're going to move the bill." Chicago Tribune: Madigan: Move primary to help Obama "ANCIENT FOOTAGE" OF ROMNEY BECOMES LATEST POLITICAL VIRAL VIDEO: A video recording of former Governor Mitt Romney expressing liberal views became an Internet sensation in the political world yesterday, prompting Romney to call a conservative webcast to say that he has "grown a bit wiser" in the past 13 years. He also accused opponents of his nascent presidential campaign of attacking him because of his record fighting for conservative causes. The five-minute clip from an October 1994 debate against Senator Edward M. Kennedy shows Romney endorsing a series of liberal viewpoints and includes statements of support for abortion rights and gay rights. The clip was viewed more than 12,000 times on Youtube.com yesterday by 10 p.m. Last night, Romney called in to the conservative Internet broadcast "The Glenn and Helen Show" to react to the distribution of what his presidential exploratory committee called "ancient footage." Boston Globe: Old Romney debate clip is now a hit on the Web "THE REAL ROMNEY?" (via YouTube.com) "BARELY KNOWN LONG SHOT" DODD JUMPS INTO WHITE HOUSE RACE: Chris Dodd is running for president, officially. He plans to launch his bid for the White House today on the Don Imus radio show. The Connecticut Democrat, who starts the 2008 race as a barely known long shot, is expected to detail his plans in a series of media appearances beginning at 6:30 a.m. on "Imus in the Morning." Dodd, 62, has been exploring a bid for the White House since May 2006... He intends to travel to Iowa Friday to attend inaugural ceremonies for Gov.-elect Chet Culver, an old family friend, and then head for South Carolina Sunday for events connected to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. Hartford Courant: Dodd Enters The '08 Race |
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• Sen. Voinovich skeptical about troop increases• Sen. Lieberman: Bush took the 'correct and courage... • Sen. Clinton: 'The wrong road -- only faster' • Sen. Hagel: Troop surge 'a dangerously wrong-heade... • Minority Leader Boehner: 'Victory in Iraq is our o... • Sen. Graham: 'We cannot afford to lose the war in ... • Sen. Smith: Bush's new Iraq strategy a 'Hail Mary ... • McCain satisfied with Bush's surge plan • Giuliani supports troop surge • Illinois House speaker wants to help Obama by chan... SUBSCRIBE
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