Comments on Advance Indiana™: Lugar Calls For Shift In Iraq Policy

I re-listened to his speech on a CSPAN rerun last ...

2007-06-27T13:33:00.000-05:00

I re-listened to his speech on a CSPAN rerun last night. Honest to God, I fell asleep. And he looked like a little old hunched-over man.

In the rarified air of the Millionaire's Club that is the US Senate, this speech moved mountains. Incredible.

Lugar had the opportunity for four Chairmanship years to weigh in. He did not.

Sen. Bayh's record on the senseless and deadly/expensive war was not the title of your post. If it had been, there's plenty of room to criticize. In Evan's little finger, there is not the foreign policy gravitas that exists in Lugar.

Nothing in Iraq has substantially changed, from earlier this year. Except we've now shipped an extra 25,000 troops over there, and extended the tours of those already there.

While the suits debate language and who can verbally one-up the other one, since W escalated this war, an extra 200 or so American GIs have been killed.

Lugar had a responsiblilty to speak out earlier. And why couldn't Lugar have said the same thing in June 2006? It could've helped end it sooner. But, of course, we had an election last year, and Senate control was in the balance.

His silence earlier compels the observation: to those whom much is given, much more is expected.

He's tardy. Deadly expensive tardy.

I am glad to see that Lugar finally took a step in...

2007-06-26T20:46:00.000-05:00

I am glad to see that Lugar finally took a step in the direction of breaking with the president; however, his speech really didn't say anything that outstanding.

Ask yourself, did he say anything that others haven't been saying all along? The value of the speech is simply that Lugar took the initiative to give it openly on the floor of the Senate. However, the only impact this speech will have is to show Bush that Lugar's seemingly steadfast support is waning.

On that score, anon. 6:12, I couldn't distinguish ...

2007-06-26T20:13:00.000-05:00

On that score, anon. 6:12, I couldn't distinguish Bayh's record on Iraq as being any different than Lugar's record. Bayh supported the administration every step of the way, along with many other Democrats who suddenly had a life-changing experience on the road to Damascus, or in this case, Baghdad.

Lugar was chairman of the august Foreign Relations...

2007-06-26T18:12:00.000-05:00

Lugar was chairman of the august Foreign Relations Committee for six years--and he squandered his Methodist values and bully puplit.

For that entire term as chair, Lugar said nary a negative word about Bush's insane foreignpolicy. He collaborated often with that unidicted co-sonspiraotr, Condi Rice, to lend a more sdft, humane voice to this amdinistration's foreign policy,.

Which wasn, and is, utter nonsense.

Power under-used is sometimes more harmful than abuse of power.

"However, [Lugar spokesman Andy] Fisher said the s...

2007-06-26T10:10:00.000-05:00

"However, [Lugar spokesman Andy] Fisher said the speech does not mean Lugar would switch his vote on the war or embrace Democratic measures setting a deadline for troop withdrawals."

A nice speech - which George W. Bush will stubborn...

2007-06-25T22:01:00.000-05:00

A nice speech - which George W. Bush will stubbornly ignore. Soothing words which will not compel this Administration to change a damn thing. The only power Congress has is the power of the purse - political suasion has no purchase on this White House.