Senator Harry Reid is making no apologies for rejecting last week's proposed war compromises...No one has a good idea about what to do next and even "getting out" means up to 2 years to pull out all the equipment, people, etc. Hey, just enough time for Bush to get that monster embassy finished. And you know why that's so important - it ensures his portion of the oil profits once they start flowing.....
"We did the very best we could," the senator from Nevada said in response to criticism that he had cut off debate on Wednesday just as a bipartisan consensus on milder Iraq proposals was emerging. "I strongly believe we should have a bipartisan foreign policy." But he added: "We need to do something to change the course of the war."
Yet, at the same time, Democratic war opponents are agitating for party leaders to push aggressively to bring troops home. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) explained the leadership's rationale this week. "Was it worth it? I think it was. Now the Senate's on record. Many senators who've gone home and said they're opposed to the war voted to continue the war. They'll have to answer to the voters."
The Senate all-nighter shored up support among liberal antiwar activists, who were furious when congressional Democratic leaders gave Bush an additional $100 billion in war funding in May, with no deadline strings attached. John D. Podesta, president of the progressive think tank Center for American Progress, said the Senate this week provided "clarity" to a public largely opposed to the war.
"Staying here all night changed, to some extent, the perception of the reality in Washington," Podesta said.
