The House and Senate will be taking up the Iraq spending bill this week. That spending bill could change the course in Iraq, but Bush won't do it. He's going to veto the legislation because it's his war and no one else can tell him how to run it. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is laying down the terms of the debate based on excerpts from a speech he's giving later today. The Democrats have the upper hand here:
Reid's speech blended an attack on Bush, an appeal for patience to the anti-war voters who last fall gave Democrats control, and an attempt to shape the post-veto debate.Lies and denial have been the Bush Iraq strategy. It is way past time to change the course.
"I understand the restlessness that some feel. Many who voted for change in November anticipated dramatic and immediate results in January," he said.
"But like it or not, George W. Bush is still the commander in chief — and this is his war," Reid said.
Reid said Democrats have sought Republican support for their attempts to force Bush to change course. "Only the president is the odd man out, and he is making the task even harder by demanding absolute fidelity from his party."
Looking beyond Bush's expected veto, he said, "If the president disagrees, let him come to us with an alternative. Instead of sending us back to square one with a veto, some tough talk and nothing more, let him come to the table in the spirit of bipartisanship that Americans demand and deserve."
Reid noted disapprovingly that in a speech last week, Bush repeatedly said there were signs of progress in Iraq in the wake of a troop increase he ordered last winter.
"The White House transcript says the president made those remarks in the state of Michigan. I believe he made them in the state of denial," said Reid.
