Oh, the Fecklessness of Leadership

Oh, the Fecklessness of Leadership updated

Where is it?

Can’t find it.

Don’t see it.

After short-circuiting consideration of votes on some bipartisan proposals on Iraq before the August break, senior Democrats now say they are willing to rethink their push to establish a withdrawal deadline of next spring if doing so will attract the 60 Senate votes needed to prevail. Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, said, “If we have to make the spring part a goal, rather than something that is binding, and if that is able to produce some additional votes to get us over the filibuster, my own inclination would be to consider that.” Democrats would need to lure the 60 senators in order to cut off a likely Republican filibuster. The emerging proposal by Mr. Levin and Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, would still order the administration to begin pulling at least some combat troops out of Iraq, probably by the end of the year. It is not clear what other provisions the measure may include. But Mr. Levin, who is chairman of the Armed Services Committee and who met Wednesday with Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said a compromise may be worth making. It would allow Congress to assert its own voice on Iraq policy, after falling short of that goal in most such votes throughout the year, he said. … .. Democrats Newly Willing to Compromise on Iraq

As for the presidential candidates, Chris
Dodd has come out strong:

“I cannot and will not support any measure that does not have a firm and enforceable deadline to complete the redeployment of combat troops from Iraq. Only then will Congress be able to send a clear message to the President that we are changing course in Iraq, and a message to the Iraqis that they need to get their political house in order. “I urge my colleagues to join me and declare their opposition to this measure.”

John Edwards is scheduled to give a speech today. Forgive me, but it’s about
time. He released a
statement yesterday:

“In 2006, the American people elected a Democratic Congress to change course and end this war. It’s the whole reason the American people voted for change. Yet, 10 months after the election, we still have the status quo and Congress has still failed to do the people’s will. That might be the way they do it inside the Beltway, but it’s not the American way. It’s time to stand up for the American people and against President Bush’s failed, stubborn policy. Without a firm deadline, a small withdrawal of only some of the surge troops won’t cut it—that’s not a solution, it’s an excuse. Congress must not send President Bush any funding bill without a timeline to end this war. No timeline, no funding. No excuses.”

Edwards is a candidate with good ideas; maybe even the most progressive candidate out there. However, his campaign strategy simply
sucks. I wish to heaven his campaign team would wake up and get that Iraq is
the only issue that can come close to making up ground for him. (I’ve
been harping on this on my radio show.) Mr. Trippi should know better, but
instead camp Edwards has been all over the frickin’ map. People do not vote
on poverty issues. They aren’t inspired; it depresses them. From the start Edwards
should have announced in his hometown, with his humble roots as foundation, giving his wealth today context.
How could they have been so dense, while not anticipating where they’d get hit? Of course, Trippi joined the campaign late so that’s hardly his fault.
But Edwards has lost a lot of time, a lot and it’s precious time
that may not allow him to make up the ground. Edwards speech today at Pace University needs to be good, though it’s billed as a “major policy speech on counterterrorism” instead of Iraq, which is unfortunate. Because assuming he hits the bullet points he usually does, the “global war on terrorism” as a “bumper sticker,” it won’t work for him, especially when compared to Iraq. A reported new 9/11 – bin Laden tape about to surface will simply make Edwards sound completely tone deaf (whether he’s right about the GWOT or not; he is). Remember Kerry before the ’04 election when that bin Laden tape surfaced? Candidates need to be surprise proof, which might explain for you why other candidates hedge their bets on things like the “global war on terror.” However, just maybe Edwards will balance both counterterrorism and the Iraq war, hitting them both.

There there is the other disconnect facing Edwards. A
new Quinnipiac poll shows Clinton leads by a mile with Democratic primary
voters. But the match ups between Edwards with possible Republican opponents
is something else when compared to Clinton’s, as Edwards supporters around here have pointed out. These numbers are a killer for camp Edwards, because it proves they’re not getting their message across to Democrats. It also illustrates the flawlessness of Clinton’s campaign.

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner has opened a 47 – 40 percent lead over her GOP counterpart, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, up from a 43 – 43 percent tie in an August 8 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. In other possible 2008 presidential matchups: - Clinton tops Arizona Sen. John McCain 46 – 41 percent; – Clinton beats former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson 49 – 37 percent; – Clinton bests former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 50 – 37 percent; – Illinois Sen. Barack Obama gets 42 percent to Giuliani’s 41 percent, but gets 41 percent to McCain’s 42 percent; – Obama tops Thompson 46 – 34 percent and beats Romney 46 – 32 percent; – Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards beats Giuliani 47 – 38 percent; tops McCain 46 – 38 percent; tops Thompson 50 – 32 percent and bests Romney 50 – 30 percent. In the primary contests, Clinton now holds a 44 – 15 percent lead over Obama among Democrats with John Edwards at 11 percent and former Vice President Al Gore at 8 percent.

But it’s fall and a new season offers new opportunities.

All the presidential candidates need to now focus on one topic: Iraq. The hints of compromise that get us nowhere, especially not out of Iraq, are a horrendous harbinger for disaster. If the
presidential candidates do not lead on getting out of Iraq, not to be confused
with pandering on Iraq, what good are they to any of us, not to mention our soldiers who are depending on — dare I say it — new leadership? I cannot say it any plainer.

UPDATE: I’ve interviewed Kristen Breitweiser, who is as tough, smart and as serious as citizens come on the issue of counterterrorism. The article further outlines what Edwards will say, including going straight at Clinton on her “we’re safer” line. For Edwards, the tougher the better.

In a speech at Pace University in Lower Manhattan, and with an introduction from a Sept. 11 widow and activist Kristen Breitweiser, the former North Carolina senator and Democratic presidential candidate is planning to propose creating a “Counterterrorism and Intelligence Treaty Organization.” This would serve as a kind of modern-day NATO, giving member countries a way to better track terrorists’ communications, recruiting and financing, on the theory that breaking up plots requires cross-border cooperation, as shown in Germany’s foiling of an alleged plot this week. “There is now only one key question we must ask ourselves: Are we any closer to getting rid of terrorism than we were six years ago? And the terrible answer is no, we’re further away,” Edwards is expected to say. … .. Edwards to Offer Anti-Terror Plan Criticizing Bush and Democratic Rivals