CQ Politics is reporting that this won't be a week for a lot of votes in the House:
House leaders plan to hold votes only on Monday next week to allow members to attend the funeral of Rep. Paul E. Gillmor, R-Ohio, and observe the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
Gilmor's sudden death has been ruled accidental by the local medical examiner, according to CQ Politics.
However, the short week should still be full of drama, if not votes. Today, General David Petraeus presents his report on the surge to the joint session of the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees. Petraeus will brief the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. Envoy Ryan Crocker is also in town. The Washington Post looks at the Congress, White House Battle Over Assessment and Spotlight Shifts to Views Of U.S. Envoy to Iraq.
Polling indicates that many Americans do not trust Petraeus to deliver an accurate reprot to Congress. CNN reports:
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll taken last month found about two-thirds of Americans -- 64 percent -- oppose the Iraq war, and 72 percent say even if Petraeus reports progress, that won't change their opinion.
The poll also found a great deal of skepticism about the report, with 53 percent saying they do not trust Petraeus to give an accurate assessment of the situation in Iraq.
The Strib reprints History echoes in Petraeus' testimony, a LA Times piece which asks whether the general will be remembered as a Grant or a Westmoreland. Only in the toadying worldview of staff officers could the American Civil War and the Iraq civil wars be conflated.
UPDATE #2: The Cucking Stool provides a Petraeus Handbook to help the home viewer. A better value than any Cliff Notes.
UPDATE: Conservative site Red State is livid over a MoveOn.org ad and is suggesting that its readers call "vulnerable" Democrats to denounce the ad. Walz is on their list:
Here is a list of vulnerable Democrats. Call them and get their comments on MoveOn.org's ad campaign. Put their response in the comments.
My, my.
D
Comments