Political Bulletin

WASHINGTON NEWS

Petraeus, Crocker Briefings Fall Flat

Gen. David Petraeus and US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker briefed lawmakers Thursday via satellite from Baghdad, and appealed for additional time for the so-called "surge" to succeed. The Los Angeles Times reports Crocker "predicted...that a key September report would show progress in Iraq, but that it would be November before they could judge the success of the troop buildup." The comments "were a new indication that the White House planned to seek still more time for its troop 'surge' to stabilize the situation in Iraq." In fact, the AP reports that Petraeus' deputy in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, later told reporters he would "need beyond September to tell if improvements represent long-term trends."

The testimony and particularly remarks by Crocker arguing against the relevance of meeting "benchmarks" by September was poorly received both by members of Congress and media commentators. The New York Times says the testimony, "aimed in part at conveying that the Administration was not planning a major strategy shift in September," was met by "stern rebukes from lawmakers of both parties." Senior Republicans and Democrats told Petraeus and Crocker that "time was running out, both for Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki...and for what remained of Congressional support." Sen. Richard Lugar asked Crocker about his role in "any planning under way at the National Security Council, State Department or Pentagon for the revised strategy in Iraq once the troop increase had run its course," but the ambassador insisted that he is "not aware of these efforts" and his "whole focus is involved in the implementation of Plan A." The Washington Times runs a similar story under the headline "White House Lowers Bar For Iraq Success."

NBC Nightly News called Thursday's briefings "two unusual attempts by the Bush administration to buy more time on the ground in Iraq and to stem the tide of calls" for withdrawal. NBC added that lawmakers "appeared unconvinced." ABC World News said the testimony "ran into a buzz saw of criticism and tough questions." Daniel W. Reilly writes in The Politico that Crocker's "downplaying" of the importance of benchmarks "angered Democrats."

The Washington Post reports that Crocker told lawmakers that Iraqi political reconciliation "has a considerable ways to go," but his focus is "less on ensuring that the Iraqi government" reaches the benchmarks and "more on developing a process for government factions to work together." In response, Sen. John Kerry charged that the Bush administration is "moving the goalposts," while Sen. Joseph Biden warned that "time's running out in a big way." USA Today and Wall Street Journal run similar reports.

But the Wall Street Journal's "Washington Wire," in an item titled, "Bush Aides See War Critics On Right Voting With Party," reports White House officials "express confidence Congress will fail again in September to curb the 'surge' of U.S. troops, with only 'a very small number' of Republican defectors. Aides say even Republican detractors show no sign of joining Democratic proposals. 'We hear what they say, but it's their votes that matter,' one aide says."

Despite all the coverage, Fox News' Special Report said "the meetings were classified."

War Opponents Not In Attendance. According to the Washington Post, the reaction to the briefing "on all sides was an indication of increasing political tensions." The Senate Democratic leadership "mocked the session as unhelpful and poorly organized." Majority Leader Harry Reid "called it a 'supposed briefing' and noted that many Capitol Hill offices were unaware it was occurring." Fox News' Special Report reported that "notably absent" from the briefing were House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Reid, Sens. Hillary Clinton, Joseph Biden and Chuck Hagel, "who are all pushing for a troop withdrawal." The Washington Times says Speaker Pelosi "spoke briefly with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates yesterday and has scheduled a personal briefing with him for next week."

Sleepover Poisons The Waters According to the New York Times, in the wake of this week's Senate "sleepover" and debate on withdrawal of US troops, "lawmakers of both parties said they had rarely seen the tone so poisonous and the willingness to work together on the floor at such a low ebb." On PBS' Newshour with Jim Lehrer, Sen. Lamar Alexander touted in yesterday's Roll Call as a leading voice for bipartisanship -- said of Senate majority leader Harry Reid, "If he would spend half as much time building consensus as they have planning slumber parties for senators, we'd be sending the troops the single best message we can send them. Which is: 'We not only fund them, but we have a unified mission that most of us support." The Politico reports that seventy House members, "nearly all liberal Democrats, vowed today that they would not support any more funding for Iraq military operations unless tied to a complete withdrawal of combat troops."

Bush: Democrats Want Your Dough

President Bush visited Nashville yesterday, where he warned that he would veto any Democratic spending bills that he considers wasteful. Bush also touted his economic policies particularly his business tax cuts. The story received only limited attention from national media, with the network newscasts skipping it altogether. Fox News' Special Report was one of the few media reports that noted that Bush's focus on the economy came "on a day when the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 14,000 for the first time." The President toured a bun bakery in Nashville, a fact that, says the New York Times, "perplexed" many observers until they heard Bush quip, "You can't keep making buns if the Democrats take all your dough."

That comment, adds the NYTimes, led to "jokes among his aides and reporters that the president's staff had scoured the nation to find an establishment to fit the one-liner, but a spokesman later said that the president was serious when he said of the Democrats, 'If they overspend, or they try to raise your taxes, I'm going to veto their bills.'" The Los Angeles Times says "the visit allowed him to draw attention to a company that started 11 years ago with $587, took advantage of reduced taxes and grew into a multimillion-dollar business that turns out millions of English muffins and hamburger rolls every year for McDonald's, Pepperidge Farms and others." The Times adds, "In short, it was the embodiment of Bush's theory that tax cuts and small business are an engine for growth."

The Tennessean says Bush "got a mostly warm reception during a choreographed three-hour visit." Using "charts and graphs projected on a screen, Bush outlined to the mostly Chamber crowd how his federal budget and tax policy have led, he says, to a shrinking deficit." And WSMV-TV of Nashville noted the President took "time at the airport, and in his speech at Opryland to recognize Sgt. Kevin Downs, the Ashland City soldier who lost both legs in Iraq."

The Washington Post reports barely touches on Bush's tax and spend message. The President, reports the Post, said during a Q&A session that "he had considered unilaterally sending US troops to Darfur to stop the mass slaughter in that Sudanese region but decided against it in favor of a multinational response that he conceded has been 'slow' and 'tedious.'"

Immigration Issue Won't Go Away In this morning's newspapers, Bush's message on taxes and spending was somewhat overshadowed by his comments about immigration during a question and answer session. The AP reports the President "sharply challenged critics of his stalled immigration-overhaul efforts," and suggested that "failure to pass a guest-worker program could trigger a labor shortage in the United States." At a town-hall style meeting, Bush also "rebuffed a question about whether he would consider pardoning two Border Patrol agents in prison for the cover-up of the shooting of a drug trafficker in Texas." The Washington Times says that if Bush "was hoping the immigration issue would disappear after his bill's failure, those hopes were dashed, as he was asked repeatedly about border security during the forum -- meant to highlight his commitment to cutting the deficit."

Bush Broadens Privilege Assertion

The Washington Post reports this morning that Bush administration officials have "unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine US attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege." The administration's argument, says the Post, "presents serious legal and political obstacles for congressional Democrats, who have begun laying the groundwork for contempt proceedings against current and former White House officials in order to pry loose information about the dismissals."

The Post goes on to report that the Administration "has not directly informed Congress of its view. "A spokeswoman for Rep. John Conyers Jr., the Judiciary Committee's chairman, "declined to comment. But other leading Democrats attacked the argument." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called it "an outrageous abuse of executive privilege." Sen. Charles E. Schumer "said the administration is 'hastening a constitutional crisis;'" and Rep. Henry A. Waxman "said the position 'makes a mockery of the ideal that no one is above the law.'" The AP reports that in a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales yesterday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy and other Democrats "demanded to know whether a Justice Department memo declaring presidential aides absolutely immune from subpoenas was drafted legally. ... The deadline for Gonzales' answer: Monday, 24 hours before he is to testify publicly before the panel about an assortment of controversial Justice Department matters."

DOJ "On Autopilot" Meanwhile, under the headline "DOJ All But 'Operating On Autopilot,'" the Financial Times reports, "Resignations and the on­going furore over allegedly politicised hiring and firing at the US justice department have left so many top positions vacant that the department is all but operating on autopilot, the Financial Times has learnt. Six top DoJ officials have quit since February."

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CAMPAIGN NEWS

Pentagon Official Blasts Clinton

In a rare move for the Department of Defense, the CBS Evening News reported that the Pentagon "is lashing out" at Sen. Hillary Clinton for "reinforcing enemy propaganda by demanding the military start planning for a withdrawal from Iraq." Fox News' Special Report reported that "a senior Pentagon official" has "rebuked" Clinton for "demanding in a letter that an open hearing be held about how to withdraw troops from Iraq. She was accused of 'boosting enemy propaganda.' Clinton's office responded by saying that the Pentagon and the administration plans to redeploy out of Iraq with 'the same arrogance and incompetence with which it went in.'"

The AP says Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman "responded to questions Clinton raised in May in which she urged the Pentagon to start planning now for the withdrawal of American forces. A copy of Edelman's response, dated July 16, was obtained Thursday by the Associated Press. 'Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq,' Edelman wrote. He said that 'such talk understandably unnerves the very same Iraqi allies we are asking to assume enormous personal risks.'" Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines "called Edelman's answer 'outrageous and dangerous,' and said the senator would respond to Defense Secretary Robert Gates."

Candidates Tapping Out Donor Base?

U.S. News & World Report says that "because federal law limits any one individual donation to a candidate to $2,300 for the primary cycle, the presidential hopefuls increasingly have to wonder: Is the pool of donors big enough to feed the pace of this election?" US News says that among the six top-tier fundraisers, "60 percent of the money comes from donations of $2,000 or more. Most of those donations were for the primary cycle, though a few were separate donations targeted for a general election campaign; donors can give an additional $2,300 for the general election. But the bottom line is that many donors are, according to the rules, maxed out through the end of the primary cycle. So if this pace of fundraising is going to continue, many of the candidates will have to find new donors." Looking at fundraising this way, Barack Obama is "in the most advantageous position among the top tier, according to a U.S. News & World Report analysis of Federal Election Commission data through the end of June. To date, just 46 percent of his donations have been in installments of $2,000 and over. Rudy Giuliani, by contrast, has the least renewable pool of donors, with 72 percent nearly maxed out. Hillary Clinton follows close behind with 70 percent close to the ceiling."

Two Polls Show Clinton, Giuliani On Top

Two new polls out today show Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani remaining at the top of their primary fields nationally. A Fox News /Opinion Dynamics poll shows Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic field with 39%, followed by Barack Obama, 23%; Al Gore, 9%; John Edwards, 9%; and the rest of the field at 3% or less. Without Gore in the race, Clinton leads Obama 41%-25%, with Edwards at 12% and all others at 4% or less. A CBS News/NY Times poll of 1,554 adults nationwide taken July 9-17 shows Clinton on top with 43%, followed by Obama with 24% and Edwards with 16%.

On the GOP side, the Fox poll shows Giuliani on top with 27%, followed by Fred Thompson and John McCain, both at 16%. Mitt Romney finishes fourth with 9%. The CBS News/NY Times poll shows Giuliani on top with 33%, followed by Thompson, 25%; McCain, 15%; and Romney, 8%.

Clinton, Obama Beat Republicans In Trial Heats In the Fox poll, Clinton sees off the top GOP contenders in 2008 general election trial heats: Clinton beats McCain, 45%-42%; Giuliani, 46%-41%; Romney, 50%-35%; and Thompson, 47%-38%. Obama also does well. He beats McCain, 47%-37%; Giuliani, 45%-41%; Romney, 47%-37%; and Thompson, 48%-32%.

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POLITICAL HUMOR

The Latest From Late Night Comedians

Jay Leno: "As you know, the Democrats want to pull the troops out of Iraq in 120 days because they say the Iraqi government has only met 8...of the 18 benchmarks we have set. ... You know something? That's more than our Congress has had, isn't it?"

Jay Leno: "We should bring them over here to run our government. Maybe that would work."

Jay Leno: "Well, according to the new Zogby poll, the new Congress has hit another historic low. Only 14% of people approve of Congress, 14%. And that's just the hookers that worked for the DC Madam."

Jimmy Kimmel: "Hopeless Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich was hospitalized for food poisoning on Sunday night. He's fine now. He was released from the Cleveland Children's Hospital yesterday."

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