First Glance
Posted: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 9:17 AM by Huma Zaidi
Filed Under:
First Thoughts
From Mark Murray, Huma Zaidi, Lauren Appelbaum, and Carrie Dann
President Bush’s Iraq speech, in which he’s expected to call for an increase in US troops to Baghdad, is now officially set for Wednesday at 9:00 pm ET. Bush has added two new events to his schedule that take place the next day: 1) a lunch with military personnel at Fort Benning, GA, and 2) his participation in a military demonstration there. The speech now also will come after an Air Force gunship made raids in Somalia yesterday in search of Al Qaeda operatives believed responsible for the 1998 bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. And it will come on the heels of a new USA Today/Gallup poll showing that more than 60% oppose sending more troops into Iraq.
President Bush’s previous failures with Social Security, immigration reform, and John Bolton’s nomination as UN ambassador all had at least one thing in common: They were doomed by GOP opposition, even if it happened to be just one recalcitrant Republican. And that’s why Sen. Gordon Smith’s (R) remarks yesterday opposing Bush’s likely call for an increase in troops were significant. Per NBC’s Ken Strickland, Smith -- who already criticized the war before the holidays -- said US troops should not "shed blood" over issues that "Iraqis must settle." "We cannot want democracy for Iraq more than they want it for themselves," he concluded (although he said he doesn’t want to cut funding). GOP Sens. Norm Coleman and Susan Collins also oppose the increase. All three are up for re-election in 2008.
On the other side of the aisle, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D) today delivers his own pre-buttal to Bush’s speech at the National Press Club. Per excerpts, he will say, “An escalation, whether it is called a surge or any other name, is still an escalation, and I believe it would be an immense new mistake.” And he will say he’s introducing legislation mandating that no additional troops be sent (and no additional dollars be spent) unless Congress approves Bush’s plan. Kennedy later appears on MSNBC’s Hardball.
Now that the big game is over -- Florida crushed Ohio State, 41-14, in last night’s college football national championship -- Congress can concentrate its own contact sport. NBC’s Mike Viqueira reports that the House Democrats’ vaunted “100 hours” of legislative activity officially begins today instead of yesterday, because some members, including Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, wanted to attend last night’s game. Despite his pledge to begin working five days a weeks this year, Viq notes, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer agreed to the one-day delay. "It will make no substantive difference," said Hoyer's spokesperson. "It was done in the interest of comity." (Boehner, a Buckeye fan, might today regret the comity that allowed him to attend last night’s game.) The item on today’s House agenda is voting on implementing the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations.
Finally, we’re proud to announce that MSNBC and the South Carolina Democratic Party will host the first debate of the 2008 presidential race on April 26 -- yes, the race is starting this early -- in Orangeburg, SC. MSNBC will air the Democratic debate live from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm ET, and it will take place at South Carolina State University, the historically black college that’s House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn’s alma mater. South Carolina NBC affiliates WIS-TV in Columbia, WYFF-TV in Greenville, and WCBD-TV in Charleston will also air the debate.
South Carolina is set to be the fourth Democratic nominating contest of 2008, after Iowa, Nevada, and New Hampshire -- and it will play an important role in deciding who gets the nomination. In addition, it’s the first primary that will take place in the South and that will include a substantial pool of African-American voters. All of the apparent frontrunners in the Democratic field have strengths in South Carolina: John Edwards, who was born in the state, won it in 2004; Barack Obama could be a big draw among black voters; so could Hillary Clinton, whose husband African Americans continue to adore. And it could provide a Tom Vilsack, or a Joe Biden, or a Chris Dodd a chance to pull off an important win. Game on.
