Media coverage of the US troop withdrawal from Iraqi cities which included reports on all three network newscasts tended to cast the White House's reaction as cautious and measured. The CBS Evening News said it was "the beginning of the end of US military operations in Iraq," and showed President Obama saying, "The Iraqi people are rightly treating this day as a cause for celebration. Make no mistake, there will be difficult days ahead." ABC World News said the President "has hailed the withdrawal, but has warned of continuing violence." NBC Nightly News ran footage of Obama saying, "Iraq's future is in the hand of its own people and Iraq's leaders must now make some hard choices necessary to resolve key political questions, to advance opportunity and to provide security for their towns and their cities."
AFP characterizes the White House reaction as "careful," and notes US officials "declined to declare victory, six years after the US invasion under ex-president George W. Bush spawned an insurgency that killed more than 4,300 US troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis." The Washington Times similarly refers to "cautious" White House "praise" for "the withdrawal of most US forces out of Iraqi cities and towns." More critical was Fox News' Special Report, reporting that "analysts" contend this "milestone" would "not have arrived but for the troop surge candidate Obama opposed."
In a story headlined "Have We Forgotten Iraq?", the Washington Post reports that "the celebrations in Iraq...stand in stark contrast to the reaction in the United States. Here the transfer of power has been met almost with public indifference." The AP reports US troops "are out of Iraq's cities but not its future. Even a best-case scenario is likely to feature an American role there for years -- militarily as well as diplomatically."
Gibbs' Jokes About "Mission Accomplished" Banner The Hill notes White House press secretary Robert Gibbs "joked in a dig at President George W. Bush's 'Mission Accomplished' moment aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln," saying, "We'll keep the banner printers from doing anything crazy."
CNN's The Situation Room also reported that Gibbs "would not answer whether the White House believes the U.S. has won the war."
Biden To Play Leading Role On Iraq Policy Fox News' Special Report reported, "There will be a new role...for Vice President Biden. The White House says he will travel more extensively to Iraq and work as someone who will try to bring political reconciliation to that country working with US military commanders and US diplomats."
The Hill reports, "With more questions than answers arising in the debate over his healthcare proposal, President Obama is looking to pressure Congress by taking his push for reform back on the road" with a town hall event in Annandale, Virginia. The event "follows on a pattern the Administration has adopted whenever the president's agenda faces roadblocks on Capitol Hill: Get out of Washington." Both Democrats and Republicans "are starting to draw lines in the sand that make the chances of healthcare reform happening this year seem even more dicey."
The Wall Street Journal reports lawmakers "working on a major overhaul of the health-care system have reached a familiar juncture in their effort to reshape one of the largest sectors of the economy. ... The situation in many ways trods the path of then-President Bill Clinton's failed bid to extend health insurance to all Americans in 1993 and 1994." However, according to the Journal, "the dynamic is different this time, with congressional Democrats appearing more inclined to act decisively on the issue."
White House Mum On Details Roll Call, in an article titled "White House Steers Clear Of Comment On Health Bill Details," reports that the White House "sought to avoid direct comment on health care legislation shaping up in the Senate." White House press secretary Robert Gibbs "clung to a hands-off-Congress strategy in seeking to explain why he won't discuss President Barack Obama's refusal to reiterate his campaign pledge not to tax health care benefits."
Wal-Mart Backs Employer Health Insurance Mandate The Wall Street Journal reports in a front-page article that "in a major break with most other large companies," Wal-Mart has told the White House -- in a letter co-signed by Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union and John Podesta, who led President Obama's transition team and is head of the Center for American Progress -- "that it supports requiring employers to provide health insurance to workers, a centerpiece of President Barack Obama's effort to provide near-universal coverage to Americans." The "support of Wal-Mart, the nation's largest private employer, could give momentum to one of the most-contentious aspects of legislation taking shape in Congress to fix the health system."
The Hill reports that the employer mandate is "adamantly opposed by...virtually every major business trade association in Washington." Wal-Mart's support, however, "could give a big boost to President Obama and Congress's effort to levy such a requirement on companies." The Washington Post says Wal-Mart's shift comes "after years of strenuous opposition."
Drug Lobby, Consumer Groups Launch Ad Campaign The Politico reports, "The pharmaceutical industry and one of the country's leading consumer health care groups on Tuesday launched a multimillion-dollar national television advertising campaign to urge lawmakers to pass quality, affordable health care reform. The PhRMA and Families USA ads highlight the personal stories behind reform, but are also an attempt to draw attention to the policy prescriptions the two former adversaries announced in April."
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The Washington Times reports Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "urged" President Obama "for two days to toughen his language on Iran before he did so, and then was surprised when he condemned Iran's crackdown on demonstrators last week, administration officials say." Clinton "had been advocating the stronger US response," but "the president resisted. When he finally took her advice, the aides said, he did so without informing her first."
USA Today reports President Obama's effort to engage the Iranian regime "has been derailed -- another casualty, at least for the moment, of the brutal crackdown by the Iranian regime."
Iranian-Backed Groups Stepping Up Attacks In Iraq The Wall Street Journal reports that "some of the Iraqi Shiite extremist groups that the US claims are backed by Iran say they are ratcheting up attacks in Iraq in tandem with Tehran's post-election crackdown on protesters." Shiite militia leaders "say a toughening resolve among hard-liners in Iran is translating into direct orders from Iran-based leaders to increase attacks, as well as inspiring militants next door in Iraq to demonstrate their influence."
And Gen. Ray Odierno, reports the AP, yesterday "accused Iran of continuing to support and train militants who are carrying out attacks, including most of the ones in Baghdad."
AFP reports the Pentagon is "considering how it might ease the 'don't ask, don't tell' law requiring gays to keep quiet about their sexual identity or face expulsion from the military, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday." The Secretary "said he discussed the issue last week with US President Barack Obama and that there also has been discussion among senior military and legal counsel about possible changes in how they apply the law, which he described as 'very restrictive.'" The Hill notes "Gates' remarks, made aboard a military plane on the way to Germany on Tuesday, come one day after...Obama reiterated his support for repealing the 1993 ban during a reception with gay and lesbian advocacy groups."
The Hill reports, "A law firm has removed a photograph from its website illustrating a lobbyist's involvement in the transfer of four Guantánamo Bay detainees to Bermuda. The photograph was on the website for Bingham McCutchen, a law firm representing -- on a pro bono basis -- four Chinese Uighurs held at Guantánamo." The picture shows "Art Collins, a lobbyist for Bermuda's government, standing with the released prisoners and their lawyers on an airport tarmac in Bermuda." Collins "is well-known in political circles and worked as a strategist during President Obama's run for the White House."
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In a unanimous 5-0 ruling Tuesday, Minnesota's Supreme Court -- affirming a lower court's decision -- upheld that Al Franken (D) was the winner of November's US Senate contest with Norm Coleman (R), who conceded shortly afterwards. NBC Nightly News reported that "after eight months of battles...there was...graciousness on all sides." The Minneapolis Star Tribune adds that the court "rejected point by point Coleman's claims that inconsistent practices by local elections officials and rulings by a lower court during the trial prevented perhaps thousands of valid absentee ballots from being counted." The Court "said Coleman had 'not shown that the trial court's findings of fact are clearly erroneous or that the court committed an error of law or abused its discretion.'" The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial, disagrees with the ruling, saying Coleman "didn't lose the election. He lost the fight to stop the state canvassing board from changing the vote-counting rules after the fact." The Journal concludes, "Franken now goes to the Senate having effectively stolen an election."
Democrats Said To Still Face Challenges While the ruling gives Senate Democrats a 60-vote majority in the chamber, some media analysts say the Democrats' filibuster-proof majority in the Senate doesn't necessarily guarantee easy passage of President Barack Obama's agenda. ABC World News, for example, reported, "when Democrats are united, Republicans will be powerless to stop them. But." ABC News' Cokie Roberts was shown saying, "Democrats disagree with each other on healthcare, they disagree with each other on energy. They're going to disagree with each other on taxes. So, I wouldn't count all 60 Democrats in one block." On the CBS Evening News, Jeff Greenfield, CBS News senior political correspondent, says, "It's obviously good news for the White House. But the idea that this now answers the problem of how they get a legislative program through the Senate, no, that would be a really big exaggeration." The Wall Street Journal calls Democrats "dominance" "tenuous," and the Washington Post says attempts "to maintain party unity are also hampered by the presence of a clutch of centrist Democrats" who've come out against some of Obama's key agenda items. USA Today notes the impact of Franken's win could also be "limited" by the illnesses of Democratic Sens. Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd, who have long been absent from the Chamber.
A Second Act For Coleman? CNN's The Situation Room reported, "In political life, there is always the next chapter. A lot of people believe the next chapter may be a Coleman run for governor in the state of Minnesota. ... A lot of people think he's leaving his options open."
ABC World News reports South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) "gave another extraordinary interview today, admitting to relationships with more women, though he was vague about exactly how far those relationships went. And, he called his mistress in Argentina his soul-mate." The AP says Sanford, "who also admitted meeting his lover more times than he had previously claimed, told The Associated Press in emotional interviews that he 'crossed lines' with a handful of other women during 20 years of marriage."
The new reports are increasing the scrutiny of the governor as he attempts to stay in office. In a story headlined "New sex revelations fuel calls for resignation," Columbia, South Carolina's, The State reports, "Six of 27 members of the conservative Senate Republican Caucus Tuesday night issued a letter calling on" the Governor "to resign. Two additional senators considered among Sanford's staunchest allies, also said they want him to resign though they did not sign the letter." The CBS Evening News noted that "South Carolina's attorney general wants a review of...Sanford's travel records to see if he broke any laws while traveling with his mistress."
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The late night shows were in reruns last night.
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