May 22, 2007 – Capitol Hill Blue

Democrats back down, give Bush victory

May 22, 2007

Soldiers in Iraq (Reuters) President George W. Bush won a battle over nearly $100 billion to fund the Iraq war as congressional Democrats on Tuesday abandoned troop withdrawal efforts for now but pledged to try again in July.

Instead of setting schedules for withdrawing U.S. troops, it appeared the Democratic-run Congress and the Republican White House agreed for the first time to include conditions prodding Baghdad to make better progress toward quelling violence or risk losing some U.S. reconstruction aid.

"We've been led to believe that that is the language that is likely to be in the final version," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told reporters.

Bush, Carter back off sniping at each other

May 22, 2007

Former President Carter President George W. Bush brushed off criticism on Monday of his foreign policy from former President Jimmy Carter even as Carter tried to roll back on some of his comments.

At a joint news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at his Texas ranch, Bush said criticism like Carter's was "just part of what happens when you're president," but made clear he disagreed with the Democrat.

House Dems backing down on Iraq

May 22, 2007

After weeks of refusing to back down to President Bush on setting a timetable on the Iraq war, House Democratic leaders soon will be in the awkward position of explaining to members why they feel they must.

Rudy’s record: Rewriting history in real time?

May 22, 2007

Rudy Giuliani (AP) Rudy Giuliani, the current frontrunner for the GOP Presidential nomination may be overhyping his management credentials and role during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, claims a former New York City emergency management director.

The revelations suggest "America's mayor" may be more like President George W. Bush than his handlers want to admit — more hype than substance, more bluster than competence and more image than reality.

For Giuliani, the revelations could not come at a worse time as his campaign struggles with with wishy-washy position on abortion and his inconsistent debate performances.

Bush doesn’t budge on Gonzales support

May 22, 2007

President Bush & Alberto Gonzales President George W. Bush on Monday accused Democrats in Congress who are seeking no-confidence votes on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales of engaging in "pure political theater."

Brushing aside concerns from Republicans as well as Democrats about the effectiveness of the chief U.S. law enforcement officer, Bush said: "He has got my confidence. He has done nothing wrong."

Bush’s last-ditch war czar

May 22, 2007

The recent appointment of Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute as the new White House overseer of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is clearly a last-ditch effort to salvage the situation in Iraq by taking some of the control out of Pentagon hands.

The battle over Memorial Day

May 22, 2007

A battle over Memorial Day has erupted and it's an ugly one.

It began last week when Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards called on Americans to speak out and rally against the Iraq war on Memorial Day. That triggered a vehement rebuke from the American Legion, which called the suggestion a "revolting" attempt to sully a hallowed day.