August 21, 2007 – Capitol Hill Blue

Patraeus will testify before Congress

August 21, 2007

General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will testify before US lawmakers at public hearings to be held early next month, the White House said Monday.

The two men, responsible for implementing and assessing President George W. Bush’s “surge” strategy in Iraq, will likely testify September 11 and 12, national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters.

The two men are preparing a report on the Iraq war which is due to be released on September 15.

“General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will testify in open hearings on (Capitol) Hill,” Johndroe said.

Obama presidency a stretch for some

August 21, 2007

Barack Obama knows it’s a stretch to think of him as president.

Just 46 years old and three years out of the Illinois legislature, the freshman senator also understands that the clock is ticking on his chance to surmount that “certain threshold” and convince voters he’s ready for the White House.

“The challenge for us is to let people know what I’ve accomplished at a time when the campaign schedule is getting so compressed,” Obama said in a recent interview. “I just don’t have much time to make that case.”

Bringing the bodies home

August 21, 2007

Women have throttled up through many a glass ceiling since Jackie Fleming’s mother first zipped up her go-go boots and boarded a Pan American Airways Boeing 747 for its inaugural Washington D.C. to London flight.

“They actually checked their legs for scars. The skirts were so short,” Fleming says with an amused bewilderment. In the sexy ’60s flying was still stylish and her mother was an airborne pioneer.

This time FEMA claims it’s ready

August 21, 2007

The statistics are most impressive: 10 million liters of water and 4 million MREs stockpiled in Texas; 1,300 buses, 130 airplanes and “hundreds” of helicopters ready to go; 10,000 Texas National Guards on standby by mid-week; and contracts already drawn up for relocation housing.

Did anyone really win in the Padilla case?

August 21, 2007

With characteristic overstatement, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales proclaimed the verdict in the case of Jose Padilla “a significant victory” in combating terrorism.

It was a victory in the sense that the jury quickly found Padilla and two others guilty but “significant” would be stretching matters.

Tough times for man’s best friend

August 21, 2007

If you have any doubts about the despicable nature of the allegations against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, you can dispel them by Googling a term like “dogfighting” and perusing the pictures and stories that pop up; any reasonably civilized human being will be disgusted.

Dissatisfaction fuels Presidential race

August 21, 2007

Don’t assume that 2008 will represent an easy Democratic win over the Republicans.

It may be far more interesting than that.

Whenever dramatic change undermines America’s broad political consensus, the familiar two-party system fractures into a multi-sided contest. What has turned out to be a long hard slog in Iraq may produce an echo of other presidential-election years in which broad dissatisfaction fueled a serious challenger to the two major parties.

Fred’s waiting game

August 21, 2007

While Fred Thompson’s minimalist strategy in the Republican presidential sweepstakes seems to defy all the conventional wisdom so far it seems to be working. With the polls showing the former senator turned actor tied for second with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in Iowa and close to that in other key primary states, Thompson appears almost to be defying the laws of political gravity.

He reminds one of the man who fell off the 20-story building and as he passed each floor was heard to say, “Well, so far so good.”

Is Fred Thompson another Reagan?

August 21, 2007

He’s an actor-turned-politician in the mode of Ronald Reagan, someone who is at ease in front of a camera or a crowd, a man who can charm an audience with a folksy tale or a clever turn of phrase.

But is Fred Thompson truly Reaganesque?

Reagan was, after all, the Great Communicator, a leader so skilled at connecting with his subjects that he has become the standard by which all would-be presidents are judged.

Thompson’s admirers, elated over his decision to seek the Republican nomination for president, already are hailing his candidacy as the second coming of Reagan.