Today's Fresh Meat

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The media will likely spill a lot of ink (and its electronicequivalent) over the decision by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and SenateLeader Harry Reid to drop their demands for a timetable in the Iraqspending bill. The Chronicle has an extensive article on the immense challenges Pelosi has faced and how far she has come in re-framing the debate over the war. ThoughPelosi represents a San Francisco district that is firmly againstcontinuing the war, she represents a caucus with a much wider range ofviews. In California alone, Democratic representatives run the gauntletfrom liberal Barbara Lee of Oakland, who has never voted to fund thewar, to moderate Adam Schiff of Glendale, a member of the Blue Dogs whosupported the authorization and its subsequent funding. Pelosi didn'twin this time, but she put up an incredible fight.

One alternative to Congress imposing a deadline for withdrawal is forthe Pentagon to do so. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton calledfor such action this week. It is, after all, the Pentagon's job to manage the war and a bipartisan consensus is growing that September is to be a critical month in terms of evaluating success.

Proposition 84, the water bond measure that passed last November, isriddled with special interest money, says George Skelton of the LosAngeles Times. While the measure purported to provide critical fundsfor the state's water infrastructure, legislators are lining up to usethe bond money for pet-projects like museum expansions, ocean aquariumsand even overnight accommodations for kayakers. Probably not what the voters had in mind.

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