Americans fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are caught in the middle of a nasty political brawl between President Bush and the Democratic party. Democrats led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi want a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. The president says that's a foolish military strategy and will not do it, so the Democrats are holding up military funding. And the president is furious:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Members of Congress say they support the troops. Now they need to show that support indeed as well as in word. Members of Congress are entitled to their views and should express them. Yet debating the differences should not come at the expense of funding our troops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Now patriotic Americans, those who put the good of their country above partisan politics, can disagree all day long about the Iraq conflict. There's no question the war has not gone well. And those of us who thought the Iraqi people en mass would help America and Britain were wrong.
As "Talking Points" has stated, many Iraqis are far more interested in killing their rivals than they are in having a peaceful Democratic nation, but there's much on the line in Iraq, including blunting an increasingly belligerent Iran, which seeks to control the oil flow from the Gulf.
So if there is a possibility of stabilizing things in Iraq, and there is, my stated opinion is to support one last attempt to do that.
Therefore, Harry Reid is wrong to force a timetable and try to cut funding at this moment. He and Speaker Pelosi are putting American troops in a very bad position. The soldiers and marines fighting in Iraq know what's going on in Washington and it affects them.
This Harry Reid is an interesting character. We've tried to for years to get him on “The Factor”. He will not step up. He used to be a moderate Democrat, but has moved sharply to the left. He and Speaker Pelosi are now soul mates.
Be that as it may, if the Democrats make things harder for American troops, that will damage their chances in 2008. The fair solution is to allow President Bush one last chance to stabilize Iraq with the money he needs to do it. If the president fails, he'll go down in history alongside Warren Harding and James Buchanan.
If Mr. Bush succeeds, America and the world will be far better off. Either way, our troops need every resource the country can give them.
And that's "The Memo."
Most Ridiculous Item
The media is finally paying attention to the Rosie O'Donnell situation as we discussed but, in its usual less than forthright way.
Instead of making it about the woman's anti-American remarks, the mainstream press is trying to make it into a feud between O'Reilly and O'Donnell. There is no feud. We're simply reporting what's going on. No personal attacks. No agenda.
ABC News is even running a poll asking their viewers to pick between the conservative O'Reilly — of course they throw that in — and O'Donnell, who is not described as being a liberal. Isn't that interesting?
Anyway, ABC's viewers are taking my side in a two to one margin, which is fine, but it's not the real story!
Again, the American media is covering for far left people here. OK? As we discussed, that is what they're doing. They vilify far right people like the aforementioned Ann Coulter. But O'Donnell, unh-uh. It doesn't sound very fair and balanced to me.
It's a simple little story. But this is the most vivid illustration I can give you, and it is ridiculous.
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