Having loudly raised her own criticism of the Iraq invasion before it began and ever since, the California liberal leader finds herself stymied by the Democrats’ minority status, which prevents the calling of congressional investigations into Mr. Bush’s rationales for the invasion and the chaos in its wake. ...The Republican majority in Congress, she laments, has made Democratic efforts to force any real congressional review of the war and its aftermath impossible. Ms. Pelosi cites a recent House Republican insistence that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, in briefing Republican and Democratic House members, do so separately. That, she says, was an indication of the partisanship that dominates discussion of the war in the House.
Sounds like an efficient way to have at least one briefing where information can be dispensed without grandstanding. Also reduces leaks.
Ms. Pelosi’s own words fairly drip with dismay that public opinion polls, while indicating increasing voter concern that the country is heading in the wrong direction in Iraq and in foreign policy generally, also show that Mr. Bush’s personal appeal remains strong. |