Congressional Democrats Agree to Meet With Bush About Iraq
Congressional Democrats have now agreed to meet with Bush next week to discuss funding for the Iraq war although they are stressing that they are not going to back down over whether or not they attach a time scale to the proposed bill."We will listen to his position, but in return we will insist that he listen to concerns of the American people that his policies in Iraq have failed and we need to change course,'' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement last night.
Bush has, of course, famously stated that he is going to veto any bill that arrives with a timetable attached.
Pelosi and Reid had so far dismissed the idea of talks with Bush as a waste of time as Bush was insisting that he would only take part in the talks if the Democrats were prepared to present him with a "clean bill'' that provides the money needed by the military "without handcuffing our generals on the ground.''
It'll be interesting to see what transpires from this as neither side have very much room for manoeuvre, although - call me a cynic - I wouldn't be surprised to see the Dems put down their cards early.
I hope they don't, but history tells me otherwise, although I did take some comfort from the fact that Reid spoke so forcefully yesterday and that Pelosi appears to be a fighter.
The simple fact of the matter is that the Dems have the public overwhelmingly on their side on this matter and Bush is markedly out of step with mainstream opinion. However, he is simply reluctant to admit that his war is lost and is looking to pass this entire mess on to his successor.
They shouldn't let him.
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2 comments:
I am impressed by Pelosi's performance. She is emerging as a true leader with a delightful feminine touch we don't find in other female leaders.
I really like the fact that she stands up to them and is unintimidated by their macho grandstanding.
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