Calling All Veep Wannabees
Jul 31, 2020241.4K Shares3.5M Views
We’ve made a lot of the clash of the presidential candidates at the Iraq hearings. And, with John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama spending so much time on the trail, it is a rare treat to see them all on the Hill, taking their turns at questioning Gen. Petraeus under the spotlight.
But the hearings might have been most valuable for the chance they gave a handful of potential vice presidential candidates to strut their stuff.
The Democratic side of the Senate Armed Services Committee was full of them: Jack Reed, Evan Bayh, Jim Webb — even Joe Lieberman, who has been spending so much time at the side of McCain that he gets mentioned as a possible veep candidate on the Republican ticket.
I have to agree with Spencer: Webb was masterful, invoking his son’s service in Iraq to underline what the surge hasn’t accomplished.
Reed did just fine, asking hard questions about serious stuff like how to demobilize Moqtada Sadr’s Mahdi Army. And Bayh demanded respect for politicians who disagree with the Bush strategy on the war.
Then there was Lieberman, who complained about his colleagues who "hear no<o:p id="vmh5"></o:p> progress in <st1:country-region w:st="on" id="fsji">Iraq</st1:country-region>, see no progress in Iraq, and most of all, speak of no progress in <st1:country-region w:st="on" id="z5q9"><st1:place w:st="on" id="uj6i">Iraq." Instead, he insisted,</st1:place></st1:country-region>there has been progress. "I wish we could come to a point where we come to an agreement on the facts."
Rhyley Carney
Reviewer
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