The Daily Background

With the House gearing up to debate Iraq this coming week, the Senate will return to the topic at the end of the month.

Libby trial:
Prosecution rests. How long and boring will Team Libby drag this out? Between calling witnesses that they admit have nothing to do with the case (eg NBC’s Andrea Mitchell), and arguing for hours over ultimately irrelevant points (like whether or not Tim Russert hates everyone on the planet), Judge Walton seems as though he might be losing a little patience with them.

Also, ironically enough, Team Libby apparently plans to try and call Judy Miller’s cred into question. Which is pretty much like the pot calling the kettle black.

Iraq/Senate
CNN on the [lack of] debate, per Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “Republicans yesterday contradicted top Pentagon officials who say Congress would not injure troop morale by passing a nonbinding resolution critical of President Bush’s Iraq war plan. Sen. Lindsey Graham said he was outraged that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates would say U.S. combat forces “understand” politics back home and won’t be disheartened by a symbolic no-confidence vote against the commander in chief. “It shows a lack of sophistication about how this would play in newspaper headlines throughout the world,” said Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican.” I don’t even need to say anything about this. The Senate will revisit the debate at the end of the month after the House passes a resolution.

Iraq/House
Next week, the House will pass a nonbinding resolution criticizing the President’s Iraq escalation plan, or “plan.” They will do so after each member of the lower chamber speaks for five minutes- a process that will take an estimated three days. The fun begins Tuesday. Says Majority Leader Hoyer on the resolution: “It will express our strong support of our troops — not only those who are at the point of the spear and at risk in Afghanistan and in Iraq, but our strong support of the troops who are here, ready to be deployed, to be trained, to be equipped properly… It will also then express our disagreement with the president’s proposal to increase the numbers of troops.” The resolution has already been chosen and Republicans will be allowed to offer a competing resolution.

Iraq/Iraq
3,118.

2008
Senator Obama will announce his official candidacy tomorrow from his home state of Illinois. The Washington Post ran an obituary for him today on their front page. Nobody quite knows why.

Filed under: Z-TDB Blog