Pedaling Back

The Democrats in Congress are now thinking of making their timetable for withdrawal from Iraq “advisory” — I just couldn’t wait to see what they would come up with to pedal back. Should they proceed with their current  strategy, the Democrats’ plan will have standards for military readiness that can be waivered and withdrawal dates that are advisory. What does this mean? It means status quo, Bush wins; this sounds like a package of non-binding, Democratic advice on its way to the president. He is The Decider, but hey guys, The Advice Taker he is not.

Knowing they are likely to lose some votes of anti-war Democrats by softening the terms for withdrawal, some Democrats are pushing a plan to keep sending 60-day amounts of war funding to drag this out. But since Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, seems to think June 1 is a final date for Congress to submit a funding bill that won’t be vetoed, that 60-day calendar would have had to start by now.

Clearly the Democrats need to drag this veto standoff out as long as possible, but it still looks like there is no way for Bush to lose this fight.