Good morning.
In Prague today, President Obama signed the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) Treaty with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. From Obama's statement:
It includes significant reductions in the nuclear weapons that we will deploy. It cuts our delivery vehicles by roughly half. It includes a comprehensive verification regime, which allows us to further build trust. It enables both sides the flexibility to protect our security, as well as America’s unwavering commitment to the security of our European allies. And I look forward to working with the United States Senate to achieve ratification of this important Treaty later this year.Both the Russian Parliament and U.S. Senate have to ratify the treaty. In the Senate, that requires 67 votes. I just heard NPR's Mara Liaisson say that will be tough because there are "only" 59 Democrats in the Senate. "Only" 59.
Next week, there's going to be a gathering of world leaders from 47 countries here in DC to discuss a strategy to keep nuclear weapons and materials out of the hands of terrorists.
Also next week, Congress returns from its two week recess. It's going to be interesting to see how fired up -- or not -- the Democrats, particularly in the Senate, are going to be to take on more big issues. Health insurance reform sucked up most of the calendar. There's going to be a lot of jockeying to see what gets attention next. And, all of this will play out against the backdrop of the midterm elections. It should make for some wild times on Capitol Hill...
