The Daily Background

Libby trial
There will be minor courtroom skirmishes today and tomorrow between the prosecution and defense lawyers in the perjury trial of former Vice Presidential Chief of Staff Lewis Libby (I don’t even know if the jury will be present). The defense has rested and of course so has the prosecution.

There’s really no consensus on how many charges will stick to Libby but as I’ve said before, I’d be shocked if he walks away from the courtroom next week a free man. He faces up to 30 years and more than a million dollars in fines if convicted of all five felony counts.

Closing statements are still set for Tuesday of next week, and the jury will not begin deliberations until then. President Bush was asked at his first press conference of 2007 if he planned to pardon Libby if convicted, and he refused to say.

House Iraq Debate
The WaPo’s Jonathan Weisman writes that “One Republican lawmaker close to the leadership, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said GOP leaders have 50 to 60 Republicans on their watch list, with between 40 and 60 expected to break with the White House tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, John Murtha (D-PA) has a new idea of his own: to forbid the Pentaon from sending ill-equipped troops to Iraq, and establish standards for what “ill-equipped” means, which he thinks would effectively block the escalation.

Says the AP today of Murtha’s plan: “Murtha, D-Pa., said he believes the Army may have no units that can meet those standards, meaning Bush’s attempt to send more troops to Iraq would be checked. Congress also could try to slow the deployment of additional troops by curtailing the Pentagon’s practice of extending the duty tours of personnel who have reached the end of their scheduled time in the war zone.”

2008- Romney
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt ‘for gay equality before I was against it‘ Romney campaigns in… Massachusetts today, hoping in vein to show his party that he is the only conservative candidate which can draw support from the northeast.

Speaking of Romney, recent polls suggest that while a majority of Americans would vote for a Mormon candidate, more of them would vote for him if he was a Democrat than a Republican. Incidentally, the numbers of Americans who said they would be open to voting for a Mormon candidate, a female candidate, and an African American candidate all coincidentally peaked in 1999 (79%, 92%, and 95% accordingly).

Iraq
3,131. And as Representative Ric Keller (R-FL) said yesterday on the House floor, criticizing earlier ’surge’ efforts: “the benefits were temporary, the body bags were permanent.”

P.S.-
Why does the Bank of America hate… America? Ask Tom Tancredo, he’s got all the answers.

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