The chief obstacle to a free and stable Iraq, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has made good on his threat to withdraw his 35 loyalists from the Iraqi government over Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s summit with President George W. Bush in Jordan. The question now is whether the pullout — reportedly ordered by al-Sadr because the summit constituted a “provocation to the feelings of the Iraqi people and a violation of their constitutional rights,” whatever that means — will be temporary or permanent. The leader of al-Sadr’s parliamentary bloc suggests it is a suspension, not a withdrawal.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
For John Kerry, the good news is that he still ranks among the top 20 American politicians. The bad news is that he’s polling dead last for likability.
As reported by CNN, the Quinnipiac poll asked 1,623 registered voters to rate 20 political figures on a “feeling thermometer” from zero to 100.
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a Republican, led the pack with a mean score of 64.2, followed by Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, 58.8, and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, 57.7.
Not all the politicians were presidential candidates. Former President Bill Clinton ranked fifth at 55.8.
President Bush? He’s at 15th, just behind former Vice President Al Gore. Their scores, respectively, were 43.8 and 44.9. Kerry’s was 39.6.
Posted by Dave Knadler
As our editorial Tuesday argued, the Bush team’s recent flurry of pragmatic regional diplomacy on Iraq — including President Bush’s meeting today in Jordan with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki — is a welcome change of course, even if it is a couple of years late.
But the Bush team needs to talk to all of the players, including troublemaker regimes Syria and Iran. As former Secretary of State James Baker said last week, “it’s not appeasement to talk to your enemies.”
Talking with Iran and Syria is complicated and might not lead to any breakthroughs, but with Iraq rapidly sliding toward chaos, it’s worth trying. At this point, are there better options?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments today for perhaps the most important environmental case in years. At issue: whether the Environmental Protection Agency must regulate carbon dioxide as a global warming pollutant under the Clean Air Act.
Twelve states and environmental groups say yes, pointing to the law’s language that the EPA shall regulate any pollutant from motor vehicles that “may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.”
If the high court agrees, it could mean sweeping changes for the nation’s energy policy and new restrictions on greenhouse emissions from cars and coal-fired power plants.
Too bad it takes a lawsuit to force this administration to acknowledge the scientific consensus and enforce the law.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
“The AK-47 has become the world’s most prolific and effective combat weapon, a device so cheap and simple that it can be bought in many countries for less than the cost of a live chicken,” Larry Kahaner wrote in an interesting op-ed piece in the Washington Post about the development and proliferation of the Russian assault rifle, which is responsible for a quarter million deaths a year. “For all of the billions of dollars Washington has spent on space-age weapons and military technology, the AK still remains the most devastating weapon on the planet, transforming conflicts from Vietnam to Afghanistan to Iraq.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
One thing about all the newly prominent faces of the Democratic majority’s congressional committee chairmen is hard to miss: Dubbed the “old bulls,” they define seniority. Of the new Senate chairmen, all but one is at least 60, and three are 80-something — including 89-year-old Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. About two-thirds of the new House chairmen are older than 60. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (in photo), D-Mich., is 80 and was first elected to Congress in 1955. “I don’t buy green bananas,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., who is 76.
The question will be whether the old bulls will lead their committees in a way that reflects the centrist mandate of the 2006 election, or veer so far left that they remind voters why Democrats lost power in the first place.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
