Pajama Pete Domenici is getting restless about Iraq:
Pointing to his profound disappointment in the Iraqi government, U.S. Senator Pete Domenici today called for a redirection of U.S. military policy in Iraq and announced his support for bipartisan legislation to create conditions by which American combat troops can be removed from that nation.
Domenici, who serves on the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, announced his decision to support the legislation, the Iraq Study Group Recommendation Implementation Act (S.1545), at a news conference in Albuquerque Thursday.
“I want a new strategy for Iraq. I continue to completely support the men and women in the American Armed Forces. They have not failed us. It is the Iraqi government that is failing to make even modest progress to help Iraq itself or to merit the sacrifices being made by our men and women in uniform,” Domenici said. “I am unwilling to continue our current strategy.”
Could this have anything to do with Domenici’s plummeting poll numbers? He’s down to a 51-42 approval rating. He is laboring under a Senate ethics investigation and he may be facing a well-funded opponent.
Announcing his candidacy last week, [Don] Wiviott said his top agenda items would be redeploying U.S. troops from Iraq, balancing the budget and increasing energy independence through renewable energy and sustainable building.
Of course, I don’t disagree with Atrios:
What Domenici is likely to do, of course, is follow in the path of the very serious Dick Lugar and suggest that while the president’s policies are not good ones, those damn dirty Democrats are just too darned partisan (his good friend Joe agrees!) for anything to happen.
And what are we to make of this?
Ok, I’m doing some work at home with CNN on in the background, and ‘The Situation Room’ comes on, with Suzanne Malveux subbing for Blitzer. And she announces that Pete Domenici has changed position on the war on Iraq as she goes over the stories ‘coming up’ in today’s show. But then she said, (unless my ears decieved me), “is he [Domenici] giving aid and comfort to Democrats?” – and just moved on.
Your liberal media at work.
