Today’s press briefing included a real gem from spokesperson Dana Perino on the looming standoff over how best to fund the troops in Iraq.
A reporter, who I believe was NBC’s David Gregory, noted that there’s clearly a chasm between the congressional spending bill (with a withdrawal timeline) and the White House’s demands for a spending bill (lots of money, no questions or conditions). “Where does the [White House] go from here in terms of negotiating with Congress in a way that can actually absorb the statement the Democrats have made about the desire to set a date certain to end the war?” the reporter asked. “Or is there zero room for compromise in this?”
Perino explained, “I wouldn’t say there’s zero room”; as long as Democrats give in to the president’s demands, she said, there’s room for movement. Perino added:
“Now, their proposal is well outside of the mainstream. This is not a moderate bill. It is contrary to the Baker-Hamilton report. It’s contrary to the judgment of the President’s military advisors, and it’s contrary to the unanimous judgment of our intelligence community.”
“Outside of the mainstream”? “Not a moderate bill”? Does Perino really want to go there?
This need not be complicated. Consider the latest Gallup poll.
Would you favor or oppose Congress taking each of the following actions in regards to the war in Iraq?
Requiring U.S. troops to meet strict readiness criteria before being deployed to Iraq: Favor 80%, Oppose 15%
Setting a time-table for withdrawing all U.S. troops from Iraq no later than the fall of 2008: Favor 60%, Oppose 38%
Americans overwhelmingly support the Democratic policy on the war and reject the White House’s policy. At a certain level, doesn’t this necessarily define the mainstream — i.e., where most Americans are?
Perino might also consider this Pew Forum poll.
A solid majority of Americans say they want their congressional representative to support a bill calling for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by August 2008. Nearly six-in-ten (59%) say they would like to see their representative vote for such legislation, compared with just 33% who want their representative to oppose it.
By Perino’s logic, most Americans are outside the American mainstream, which if these words have any meaning, doesn’t make a lot of sense.
And for goodness sake, the Dems’ policy is contrary to the Baker-Hamilton report? First of all, that’s false; the Dems’ plan is very much in line with the Iraq Study Group’s general outline for the future of the war. Second of all, since when is the Bush White House even remotely concerned about the Baker-Hamilton report?
Although the president was publicly polite, few of the key Baker-Hamilton recommendations appealed to the administration, which intensified its own deliberations over a new “way forward” in Iraq. How to look distinctive from the study group became a recurring theme.
As described by participants in the administration review, some staff members on the National Security Council became enamored of the idea of sending more troops to Iraq in part because it was not a key feature of Baker-Hamilton. (emphasis added)
If the White House opposes the Democratic policy embraced by most Americans, fine. We can have a debate — a withdrawal timeline vs. an open-ended commitment to fighting in Iraq’s civil war indefinitely. But if the White House wants to argue that the “mainstream” position is the superior position, the Bush gang might as well give in now.