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WASHINGTON NEWS

Momentum Shifting To GOP In Iraq Debate

With congressional Democrats still groping for a unified Iraq withdrawal strategy, the eyewitness reports from individual Democratic lawmakers who've recently visited Iraq appear to have changed the dynamic in the debate over the war. The Kansas City Star's "The Buzz," for example, reports Democratic Rep. Brian Baird "saw enough progress on the ground that he will no longer vote for binding withdrawal timelines." Rep. Jerry McNerney "suggested that his trip to Iraq made him more flexible in his search for a bipartisan accord on the war." Also changing his tune is Rep. Tim Mahoney of Florida, who says the troop increase 'has really made a difference and really has gotten al-Qaida on their heels.'" As the Washington Post says this morning, "Democratic leaders in Congress had planned to use August recess to raise the heat on Republicans to break with...Bush on the Iraq war." Instead, "Democrats have been forced to recalibrate their own message in the face of recent positive signs on the security front, increasingly focusing their criticisms on what those military gains have not achieved: reconciliation among Iraq's diverse political factions."

Republican leaders and Administration officials are looking on with interest at the newly found Democratic support for the troop surge. A GOP congressional aide tells the Political Bulletin, "We think it is interesting to hear Democrats reluctantly admitting that the surge has been a tactical success. It's fascinating considering the ride they've been on since January and that all Democrats in Congress voted to condemn the surge in one form or fashion." Republicans are speculating that with the recent drop in blockbuster attacks and American troop deaths in Iraq, the Democrats are a bit concerned that pushing for an immediate withdrawal might appear defeatist. Sen. Hillary Clinton was the latest to say that the new tactics are working, though she still wants troops returned home. The GOP sees some of the comments about the troop surge as a way for Democrats to adjust to the changing character of the war in advance of the Petraeus report. But Republicans are not going to let voters forget about prior Democratic attacks on the war, though they are promoting the new Democratic comments on the surge in talking points sent to supporters, updated as recently as yesterday with pro-surge comments from Michigan Democrat Sen. Carl Levin.

Also suggesting a potential momentum change, the Washington Post reports on "an advertising blitz from Bush supporters determined to remain on offense. A new pressure group, Freedom's Watch, will unveil a month-long, $15 million television, radio and grass-roots campaign today designed to shore up support for Bush's policies before the commander of US forces in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, lays out a White House assessment of the war's progress." Ari Fleischer, the former Bush White House press secretary who is "helping to head Freedom's Watch," said yesterday, "For people who believe in peace through strength, the cavalry is coming." On the other hand, USA Today says "a coalition called Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, which includes such liberal groups as MoveOn.org, the Center for American Progress and the Service Employees International Union," has "spent $12 million on its 'Iraq summer' campaign."

Bush Takes The Offensive The Administration is now taking the offensive in the run-up to Gen. David Petraeus' testimony to Congress on September 11th, with Bush citing the example of the aftermath of Vietnam in a speech today to warn against a "hasty" withdrawal. USA Today reports that in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention today, President Bush "plans to argue today that a hasty 'retreat' from Iraq would lead to the kinds of bloodbaths that followed US withdrawals from Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1970s." The Wall Street Journal reports that as Bush departed the summit of North American leaders in Canada, "the White House released excerpts of his planned remarks, apparently in an effort to generate public interest." AFP reports Bush "was to charge...on Wednesday that advocates of a US withdrawal from Iraq would 'pull the rug out' from under US troops whose efforts are paying off."

The Washington Times reports Bush aide Ed Gillespie "said that 'much debate and discussion will follow' the progress report on Iraq next month and that Mr. Bush's speeches 'will provide broader context for this long-term debate.'" The New York Sun reports the speech also "will refer to World War II, saying, 'The question now before us comes down to this: Will today's generation of Americans resist the deceptive allure of retreat - and do in the Middle East what veterans in this room did in Asia?'"

In another indication of the Administration's effort to shift the debate, Bush is expressing dissatisfaction with the Iraqi government itself. Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the North American Leaders Summit in Canada, President Bush voiced what media reports are calling his harshest criticism to date of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Some reports are casting Bush's remarks as a strategic move designed to change his overall message on the war. For example, in a front page analysis titled "US Takes A Step Away From Maliki," the New York Times says Bush's remark "was not quite the vote of no confidence delivered by" Sen. Carl Levin on Monday, but it was seen as "a striking attempt by the White House to distance itself from the Maliki government before" the September progress report on Iraq.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune quotes Bush saying, "Clearly, the Iraqi government's got to do more." Under the headline "Bush Turns Up Heat On Maliki," the Washington Post reports on its front page that Bush "pointedly declined Tuesday to offer a public endorsement" of Maliki, instead "expressing his disappointment at the lack of political progress in Iraq." The AP said that when they "met in Jordan last November, the president called al-Maliki 'the right guy for Iraq.' Now, he continually prods al-Maliki to do more to forge political reconciliation before the temporary military buildup ends." USA Today, McClatchy, Washington Post, AFP, Financial Times and the Washington Times also report the story.

Congress' Approval At Record Low

The Gallup organization says in a news release that its latest poll "finds Congress' approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974. Just 18% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, while 76% disapprove, according to the August 13-16, 2007, Gallup Poll." The Washington Times, meanwhile, reports President Bush's "job-approval rating held steady at 32 percent in the poll of 1,019 adults conducted Monday through Thursday last week."

CIA's 9/11 Report Chastises Tenet

A newly released CIA report on agency failures before 9/11 is heavily critical of former director George Tenet. The story is receiving extensive media coverage, including reports on all three network newscasts and front-page headlines major newspapers. The Washington Post says the 19-page document -- a redacted executive summary of a classified report given to congressional intelligence committees two years ago -- called for the creation of a special board to assess 'potential accountability' for Tenet and other former CIA leaders."

USA Today notes on its front page that the report recommends that "Tenet and at least six other top agency officials...face review boards to further evaluate their actions." In June 2005, "then-CIA director Porter Goss rejected that proposal, a decision the agency's current director, Gen. Michael Hayden, said he supported." Fox News' Special Report finds it "striking" that Hayden, the current CIA Director, "has gone on record saying that the decision to release the report was not his choice but that it was mandated by Congress." The New York Times says besides Tenet, "the report criticizes James L. Pavitt, the C.I.A.'s former deputy director for operations; J. Cofer Black, the former director of the agency's Counterterrorist Center; and other top officials."

ABC World News reported, "Perhaps most damning, according to the report, is some 50 to 60 people at the CIA knew that two known Osama Bin Laden operatives, who would later become 9/11 hijackers, had traveled to the United States 18 months before the attacks. But the FBI was not told about them until the end of August 2001." The "harshest criticism in the inspector general's report is reserved for former CIA director, George Tenet." Likewise, the CBS Evening News noted "the report singles out...Tenet," who wasn't interviewed for the investigation. NBC Nightly News reported, "Among the findings, the CIA's Bin Laden trackers were overworked and lacked experience, training and expertise, causing them to miss important clues about some of the men who became 9/11 hijackers."

The Los Angeles Times notes on its front page that among the findings, the report claims "the CIA diverted funding from counter-terrorism activities -- and failed to spend all the money that was left -- even as Tenet and other agency officials were pleading for resources and expressing growing alarm about the terrorist threat." But the AP quotes Tenet: "There was in fact a robust plan, marked by extraordinary effort and dedication to fighting terrorism, dating back to long before 9/11." McClatchy says the report "doesn't address whether President Bush and his White House advisers paid adequate attention to the al Qaida threat in their first eight months in office."

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CAMPAIGN NEWS

Obama, Thompson Address VFW Convention

Fox News' Special Report reported that former Sen. Fred Thompson and Sen. Barack Obama both addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars conference yesterday in Kansas City. For Thompson, "it seemed a golden opportunity to score points with a friendly audience" but "his performance may have reinforced worries about his candidacy. ... While Thompson said things most of the vets wanted to hear about 'soldiering on' in Iraq," he "seemed to struggle at times delivering his speech" and "seemed unfamiliar with the applause lines in his own speech. He was interrupted by applause seven times. By contrast, anti-Iraq war Democrat Barack Obama was interrupted by applauding VFW conventioneers 18 times."

The Chicago Tribune adds that Thompson and Obama "offered starkly different assessments of the war in Iraq today before a national convention of military veterans." In his appearance, Obama "renewed his call for the removal of American military forces from Iraq." To "tepid applause," Obama said, "No matter how brilliantly and bravely our troops and their commanders perform... they cannot and should not bear the responsibility of resolving grievances at the heart of Iraq's civil war." The Kansas City Star reported on its website that Obama's comments were met with "polite applause." After his speech, Obama "shook hands with supporters in front of the stage and said he was gratified by the audience's response."

The New York Daily News reports, "Obama put caring for the troops on a par with winning wars yesterday in pitching his commander in chief credentials to veterans wary of his relative youth and lack of military service." The Daily News notes that Obama called for an end to income-based exclusion from VA benefits and budget delays for the agency, adding, "Obama's pledge to improve pay and benefits won him several rounds of applause, but the vets were less responsive to his call for withdrawing from Iraq to focus on Afghanistan."

Iraq War Vet Congressman Murphy Backs Obama

The Hill reports that PA8 Rep. Patrick Murphy (D), the only veteran of the Iraq war in Congress, has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama. The Hill notes that this brings Obama's total number of congressional endorsements to 25, compared with Sen. Hillary Clinton's 57. The Philadelphia Daily News reports Murphy "said he was 'inspired by Senator Obama's call to service and believes he is best suited to bring about the changes we need in our country.' Franklin & Marshall College political analyst Terry Madonna noted that Murphy campaigned hard against the war in Iraq, which Obama opposed from the beginning." In a story headlined 'Iraq war vet in Congress backs Obama over Hil,' the New York Daily News reports that Murphy's endorsement is "a major coup" for Obama, who "seeks to persuade voters he's best equipped to be the next commander in chief." Moreover, "The endorsement is a blow to [Clinton], who has worked with Murphy on a variety of issues, most notably co-sponsoring legislation this spring to enact a new G.I. bill for the 21st century. On Monday, she mentioned Murphy in her speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kansas City."

Clinton, Romney Surge Into Lead In Iowa

A new poll out yesterday from Zogby International shows Hillary Clinton leap-frogging John Edwards to take the lead in Iowa. The new poll, taken August 17-19, shows Clinton leading with 30 percent, followed by Edwards, 23 percent, and Barack Obama, 10 percent. Bill Richardson rounds out the field with 10 percent, with the rest of the contenders taking 3 percent or less. Zogby's previous Iowa poll, taken in mid-May, showed Edwards on top with 26 percent followed by Clinton, 24 percent; and Obama, 22 percent.

The Des Moines Register reports, "Tuesday's poll is the first time" Clinton "has led in a Zogby poll. Clinton gained six points since the last Zogby poll, in May, while Edwards and Obama each lost three points. Among Iowa women, Clinton expanded her lead, winning 35percent support, while Obama gets 19 percent and Edwards 17 percent, according to the Zogby data. Edwards leads among Iowa men, with 29 percent, while Clinton gets 24 percent and Obama gets 19 percent."

On the GOP, Mitt Romney is surging in the wake of his Iowa GOP Straw Poll win. The Zogby poll shows Romney leading with 33%, followed by Rudy Giuliani, 14%; Fred Thompson, 12%; Mike Huckabee, 8%; and John McCain, 6%. The May survey showed Romney narrowly on top with 19%, followed by McCain and Giuliani tied at 18% apiece.

Arizona, Michigan Look To Move Up Primaries

The race by the states to move up their presidential primaries continues unabated. The AP reports Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has decided to move up her state's primary to February 5, ensuring that at least 20 states (and likely more) will hold their nominating contests on that day. State law gives the governor the ability to set the primary date. Napolitano "chose the new date because it provides the earliest chance for Arizona to have its primary without breaking national political party rules, said Noah Kroloff, deputy chief of staff for policy."

However, Michigan is looking to get in front of the mega-primary, all the way to January 15. The New York Times reports that the Michigan state senate is set to take up the issue perhaps as early as today.

Brakes To Be Put On This Weekend? The issue of primary scheduling is set to come to a head this weekend, at least on the Democratic side. The Politico reports the "ugly elbowing over which states will go first in the 2008 presidential primary process is due to explode into open warfare Saturday as the Democratic National Committee decides what to do about 'rogue' states that are threatening to violate party rules." The DNC's "powerful Rules and Bylaws Committee is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. in Washington to decide primarily what sanctions to take against Florida, where Democrats say they will conduct a primary on Jan. 29 in violation of party rules." But the Politico has learned "that a secret 9 a.m. 'off the record' breakfast will precede the open meeting and the 30 sometimes contentious members of the rules committee will try to achieve some kind of consensus." A member of the committee said, "We will decide then whether to blow off Florida." The Politico adds some members of the rules committee "now feel only they can reestablish order in an increasingly chaotic process." DNC sanctions could include calling on presidential candidates to boycott the primary, or strip the offending state of 50 to 100 percent of its delegates.

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POLITICAL HUMOR

The Latest From Late Night Comedians

Craig Ferguson: "The space shuttle Endeavour came home safely. So congratulations to them. Congratulations to the crew, all the staff there at NASA. Well done, you guys. Now, they had to land a day early because of Hurricane Dean and of course they wanted to see the finale of 'America's Got Talent.'"

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