Friday, January 12, 2007
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Compiled by Stephen Bach CNN Washington Bureau Making news today... 35% said Bush has a clear plan for Iraq, while 63% said he does not. "At one point, as Mr. Bush, [National Security Adviser Stephen] Hadley, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the newly appointed secretary of defense, Robert M. Gates, weighed their options, the president asked his deputies, in effect: 'Why can't we just pull out of Baghdad and let the factions fight it out themselves?'" President's Schedule: Also on the Political Radar: ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) "DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS ALIKE" CONCERNED PLAN IS "TOO LITTLE AND TOO LATE": President Bush's proposal to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq encountered strong bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill yesterday, and his top national security advisers, dispatched to defend the strategy, were greeted with a skepticism not seen from Congress over the past six years. Lawmakers said they have little confidence that the Iraqi government has the capacity to deliver on promises to take the lead in cracking down on violent militias and providing security in Baghdad, as the president's plan contemplates. Democrats and Republicans alike said they are concerned that Bush's plan, announced Wednesday night in a nationally televised prime-time address, is too little and too late and does not appear very different from previous efforts to secure the capital. Washington Post: Bush's Iraq Plan Meets Skepticism On Capitol Hill "SUPPORT AMONG [GOP] RANK AND FILE MAY BE CRUMBLING": Republican leaders on Capitol Hill staunchly back President Bush's proposal to boost troop levels in Iraq but support among the party's rank and file may be crumbling. "At this late stage, interjecting more young American troops into the crossfire of an Iraqi civil war is simply not the right approach," Rep. Ric Keller, a Florida Republican who has been steadfastly supportive of the war, said on the House floor yesterday. "We are not going to solve an Iraqi political problem with an American military solution." Sen. Chuck Hagel, Nebraska Republican, predicted that the plan would be "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in the country since Vietnam -- if it is carried out." Washington Times: Several in GOP hit Bush 'blunder' "RESTRAINED" RESPONSE FROM FORT BENNING TROOPS: President Bush came to this Georgia military base looking for a friendly audience to sell his new Iraq strategy. But his lunchtime talk received a restrained response from soldiers who clapped politely but showed little of the wild enthusiasm that they ordinarily shower on the commander in chief. Under the new plan, more than 20,000 additional troops will be sent to Iraq, some from Fort Benning who learned Thursday that they would go earlier than expected. But instead of centering his address on the soldiers' situation, Mr. Bush seemed to be aiming his talk at ordinary Americans and members of Congress who are skeptical of his proposal. New York Times: Bush Speaks and Base Is Subdued IRAQI MILITARY RELIABLITY "IS UNCERTAIN": President Bush's plan to secure Iraq by committing 21,500 more U.S. troops rests on a shaky foundation: the Iraqi military. Recent reports by the Pentagon and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) say Iraqi security forces, primarily the military and police, suffer from a lack of training, supplies and availability. Though 322,600 Iraqi security personnel had been trained and equipped by last month, "the number of present-for-duty soldiers and police is much lower," according to a Pentagon progress report released in December. That's because so many Iraqi troops are on scheduled leave, are absent without leave or have left the service entirely, the report says. USA Today: U.S. expects new reliability from Iraqi forces WH DEBATED "BIG PUSH" FOR 2 MONTHS... "BEST OF A SERIES OF DIFFICULT CHOICES": Even before the November elections, President Bush and his national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, were informally discussing what Mr. Hadley was calling "the big push" - whether it made sense to make a show of increased American force in Baghdad to take back the city... Over the past two months those diametrically opposed options — adding American troops, or pulling back to let the Iraqi factions fight it out — marked the boundaries of a vigorous debate inside the Bush administration. At one point, as Mr. Bush, Mr. Hadley, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the newly appointed secretary of defense, Robert M. Gates, weighed their options, the president asked his deputies, in effect: "Why can't we just pull out of Baghdad and let the factions fight it out themselves?" Ultimately, the president and his advisers came back to the idea of adding American troops — the new approach they concluded was the best of a series of difficult choices, according to a senior administration official involved in the process. New York Times: A 2-Month White House Debate on Iraq, Capped by 'the Big Push' RICE'S MISSION... "THE STAKES COULD NOT BE HIGHER": With President Bush's plan to boost troops in Iraq facing blistering criticism at home, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice departs today on another difficult sales mission: winning the support of Arabs for the Iraq plan and seeking momentum for a renewed push on Middle East peace... The stakes could not be higher on Rice's week-long trip to Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Germany and Britain. She is trying to knit together her vision of a "new Middle East" from the turmoil and conflict spawned in part by the Iraq war and the rising influence of radical Islamic groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Iran has emerged as a more powerful regional power partly because of U.S. missteps in Iraq. Washington Post: Rice Seeks Backing Abroad for Iraq Plan GATES CALLS FOR 92,000 MORE TROOPS BY 2012: Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said yesterday that he wants President Bush to increase overall US ground forces by nearly 100,000 over the next five years, the largest military build up since the end of the Cold War. At a White House press conference, Gates laid out a broad blueprint for a larger Army and Marine Corps to bolster an American force the Pentagon says is stretched thin by repeated deployments to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the wider war against Islamic extremists. "I am recommending to [the president] a total increase in the two services of 92,000 soldiers and Marines over the next five years -- 65,000 soldiers and 27,000 Marines," Gates said. Boston Globe: Gates calls for buildup in troops WARTIME TAXES AREN'T RAISED FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1840S: It was once considered Americans' patriotic duty: enduring extraordinary tax increases in wartime to help finance the fight. Not today. Iraq is the only major U.S. conflict, except for the 1846-48 Mexican-American War, in which citizens haven't been asked to make a special financial sacrifice. President George W. Bush opposes tax increases, even as the costs escalate far beyond predictions and he calls for more troops. "It's a reflection of either a lack of public support for the war or perhaps an unwillingness of the Bush administration" to test its popularity, said Elliot Brownlee, an economic historian retired from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Bloomberg: Bush Breaks 150-Year History of Higher U.S. Taxes in Wartime CONGRESS, BUSH BOTH GET 32 PERCENT APPROVAL IN AP-IPSOS POLL: Public approval of Congress has edged up a bit now that Democrats are back in control, but it's still nothing to write home about. Approval for the way Congress is handling its job rose to 32 percent in the latest AP-Ipsos poll, up from a meager 27 percent a month earlier. That puts Congress on par with President Bush, whose 32 percent approval rating represents a new low for him in AP-Ipsos polling... The softening of attitudes toward Congress suggests legislators may have an opportunity to improve their standing in the new year, but there appears to be little opening for Bush to move up similarly, public opinion experts believe. AP via Yahoo! News: Bush's approval rating hits new low MORE POLL RESULTS (pdf via ipsos-na.com) JOHNSON BEGINS TO SPEAK, TRANSFERRED TO REHAB FACILITY: Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), hospitalized since mid-December following emergency brain surgery, has been transferred to a rehabilitation facility in Washington, D.C., and has begun to regain his ability to speak, his office announced Thursday. Johnson was transferred from the George Washington University Hospital's intensive care unit to its inpatient rehabilitation unit, where the veteran lawmaker will participate in "aggressive therapy." An aide to Johnson said the news was a major milestone in Johnson's recovery. "This really is good news. They describe it like restarting your computer. It takes a bit for things to connect, but today's step shows that the electricity is on and the system is humming." Roll Call: Sen. Johnson Reaches 'Major Milestone' in Recovery HOUSE APPROVES STEM CELL RESEARCH BILL 253-174: Following an emotional day of debate in which lawmakers invoked their own medical tragedies and those of families, friends and constituents, the House voted Thursday to expand federally funded embryonic stem cell research. The vote was 253-174, far short of what is necessary to override a promised presidential veto. But the third major piece of legislation to pass the House this week fulfilled a key campaign promise Democrats made on their path to winning the majority. The measure is expected to pass the Senate and then, in a replay of last year, it is expected to provoke what would be just the second veto of President Bush's tenure. The bill "would use federal taxpayer dollars to support and encourage the destruction of human life for research," the White House said in a statement. Chicago Tribune: Stem cell research passes U.S. House WHAT TIME IS IT? The clock is ticking for House Democrats, but it's hard to tell what time it is. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was touting a plan to push six bills through a Democratic House in 100 hours or less as early as June of last year. She's reached the halfway point - in fewer than 20 hours, according to her count. But just as the official clock for a basketball or football game stops for time-outs and commercial breaks, Democrats aren't counting the minutes spent on business unrelated to those six designated bills. So while the House has been in session for almost 48 hours since the 110th Congress was sworn in Jan. 4, the clock on Pelosi's Web site says only 17 hours 48 minutes have elapsed. "We're just counting the legislative hours," Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill explained. AP via Yahoo! News: Clock ticking on Dems' 100-hour agenda MORE JEWISH MEMBERS THAN EVER IN CONGRESS: While Democrats celebrated the election of the House's first female speaker, another milestone passed more quietly: The 110th Congress includes more Jewish lawmakers than any other in history, and all but four are Democrats. About 2 percent of Americans identify themselves as Jewish. But in Congress, the proportion of Jewish members is now four times that. Six new Jewish House members were sworn in last week, bringing the total to 30. In the Senate, the 13 Jewish members include freshmen Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) and Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), according to the National Jewish Democratic Council. Other faith-related facts: This Congress includes its first Muslim member and, in Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), its highest-ranking Mormon ever. Washington Post: Jewish Membership in Congress at All-Time High THE DEMS' MILE-HIGH PARTY: What once seemed like a far-fetched idea from a City Council member became reality Thursday when Denver was chosen to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean selected Denver over New York City despite lingering concerns about fundraising and the possibility of labor unrest when Democrats arrive in August 2008. That was all put aside Thursday as Colorado Democrats celebrated a chance to showcase the state and its new place as the centerpiece of Democratic efforts to retake the White House. In 19 months, more than 35,000 delegates and journalists will descend on Denver for what Mayor John Hickenlooper said could mean a boon of up to $206 million for businesses. Denver Post: Dem party coming to town NAGIN "BELITTLED" AT NOLA RALLY: For about an hour at Thursday's extraordinary anti-crime rally, Mayor Ray Nagin stood awkwardly behind a stage on the steps of City Hall, waiting for his chance to talk, listening to speakers castigate him and call for his ouster. One by one, a diverse and agitated series of orators shouted down the mayor, as well as Police Chief Warren Riley and District Attorney Eddie Jordan, with most of the vitriol directed at Nagin. Then came the moment of silence, with heads bowed, camera shutters snapping. "Where the hell is Nagin?" one man screamed, piercing the prayerful moment with rage at the city's leadership. "What do you have to say Ray?" came a voice from a crowd of thousands. "Impeach Nagin," an angry female intoned. "Where's Nagin?" the chorus continued. New Orleans Times-Picayune: Mayor reviled, rebuked at rally DODD RUNS TO IA, SC... BUT SANS JOEMENTUM: Sen. Christopher J. Dodd is off and running today for president - literally - as he heads for Iowa and South Carolina in search of support and recognition. The Democratic senator spent a whirlwind day Thursday explaining his candidacy and performing his Senate duties after formally filing papers to run for the White House in 2008... Although Dodd got respect from the media and fellow politicians, he also frequently found himself up against potential pitfalls. And he found an old friend would not be with him for the time being... Thursday, [Senator Joe] Lieberman told Dodd he would be sitting out the campaign for a while. "I'm going to stay out of presidential politics, any presidential campaign, for some time," Lieberman, who now calls himself an independent Democrat, told MSNBC. "I wish Chris luck, but I'm going to concentrate on being a senator." Hartford Courant: With Hat In Ring, Dodd Gets Busy EDWARDS "ON HILLARY'S TURF" FOR SUNDAY SPEECH: Former veep nominee John Edwards will make an "in-your-face-Hillary" visit Sunday when he delivers a Martin Luther King holiday sermon at a Harlem church. The Iraq war will be the Democratic presidential candidate's topic for his "Realizing the Dream" MLK talk at the Riverside Church, a source said. While Edwards is not likely to mention Sen. Hillary Clinton by name, his remarks will leave no doubt he has the New York senator in mind when he criticizes the war. "It's about Iraq and the need for people in Congress to engage on the issue," the source said. "He'll push for an up-or-down vote on the war." New York Daily News: Edwards plans MLK speech - on Hillary's turf "A LOT OF TENSION" BETWEEN RANGEL, PELOSI: Powerhouse New York Rep. Charles Rangel is butting heads with fellow Democrat Nancy Pelosi just a week into the new Congress controlled by their party, The Post has learned. Rangel yesterday swatted down a tax hike that Pelosi has floated, and he made an end run around her decision to bypass House committees in a rush to bring bills to a vote. "There's a lot of tension there," one Democratic lawmaker said of the relationship between Rangel and Pelosi. Rangel, who took over the powerful Ways and Means Committee after 36 years in Congress, smacked down the idea Pelosi raised on Sunday of repealing tax cuts for those earning more than $500,000 per year. New York Post: RANGEL RANKLED BY FELLOW DEM PELOSI |
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• Dodd runs to the beat of his own 'tunes'• Smith: Congress needs to 'refocus' war • Dodd tout's experience, hopes for Lieberman's supp... • Dean, 'delighted' with Denver, says labor issues r... • Dems stop the clock: 17:48:00 • Ahead on CNN • Bush would veto Medicare drug price measure, Repub... • House passes stem cell research bill • Protests against increase in troops to Iraq to be ... • Bush: "We will prevail" SUBSCRIBE
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