Bush threatens veto as Senate puts him between Iraq and a hard place

[ProSense]

Reaction from the Senate...

No, it's not theatre at all. It's very real, very serious. I was at the wake of the young kid from Wilmington , John Landrey, just yesterday. And, uh, these kids are giving their all, dying, being maimed, fighting for their country. If you believe the war was a mistake, and you believe there is a better course, it is important for us to show leadership. That's what we're doing. -- John Kerry

“He can swagger all he wants,” Mr. Reid said, “but we have 3,241 dead Americans.”

“Iraq belongs to the 25 million Iraqis who live there,” Mr. Hagel said. “It doesn’t belong to the United States.”

“Funding for the war is not the only critical need worthy of supplemental funding this year,” Mr. Byrd said. “The war must not obliterate every other concern.”

“Today’s vote gets our country one step closer to ending this ill-advised war and bringing our troops home. Last summer there were only 13 votes in favor of a deadline to redeploy our troops out of Iraq, and allowing the Iraqis to settle their civil war. Today there were 50. I encourage President Bush to think carefully about the strong majority of the American public that no longer believes in this war before he vetoes this bill.“ -- http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=5533">John Kerry

Reaction from bloggers...

From Michael J.W. Stickings at The Reaction:

A veto may yet come -- or perhaps some compromise that essentially dilutes the timetable to the point of pointlessness. But a veto threat should not stop the Democrats and their few Republican allies from pursuing this as aggressively as possible. They will be called defeatists by those who still support this horrendous blunder, not to mention the horrendously blundering Bush, but they should remember that they are working to stop a war that has been grossly mismanaged, that has been a failure, that has weakened America's ability to respond to crises around the world, that has devastated America's reputation and moral standing in the world, and that is increasingly unpopular with the American people.

From Juan Cole:

McCain Checks into Cloud Cuckooland
116 Iraqis Killed in Day of Carnage

Senator John McCain has contracted Rumsfeld's Disease. This malady consists of a combination of bad temper, misuse of language to obfuscate reality, and a Panglossian optimism in the face of stubborn, sanguinary facts on the ground.

From Carpetbagger (emphasis added):

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said, “When it comes to the war in Iraq, the American people have spoken, the House and Senate have spoken. Now, we hope the president is listening.”

It would be out of character for him, but we can hope. At this point, it’s a debate he’s losing. Badly.

Another deadline -- Republicans up for reelection, or seats up for grabs, in 2008 (21):

Alexander, Lamar (R-TN)
Allard, Wayne (R-CO) (not running)
Chambliss, Saxby (R-GA)
Cochran, Thad (R-MS)
Coleman, Norm (R-MN)
Collins, Susan M. (R-ME)
Cornyn, John (R-TX)
Craig, Larry E. (R-ID)
Dole, Elizabeth (R-NC)
Domenici, Pete V. (R-NM)
Enzi, Michael B. (R-WY)
Graham, Lindsey (R-SC)
Hagel, Chuck (R-NE) (voted to keep deadline, may retire)
Inhofe, James M. (R-OK)
McConnell, Mitch (R-KY)
Roberts, Pat (R-KS)
Sessions, Jeff (R-AL)
Smith, Gordon H. (R-OR) (voted for deadline)
Stevens, Ted (R-AK)
Sununu, John E. (R-NH)
Warner, John (R-VA)