Wednesday Roundup: What's Old Is News Again

Hey, have I mentioned that General Petraeus is reporting to Congress on the Iraq conflict? I can't recall.

Seriously, I understand the gravity and importance of the testimony Petraeus is giving. But after we heard what he was going to say days before he was going to say it, and after everyone got their chance to rebut the still-unheard testimony of Gen. Petraeus, the story is getting a little dry. For me, anyway. The mainstream media clearly disagrees.

President Bush is planning to announce his support of Petraeus' call for the withdrawal of the surge troops by next July, in case you're wondering. Just about everyone (once again) voiced their concern that the called-for withdrawal was too little too late — the phrase "a token withdrawal" proved remarkably popular. And neither Petraeus nor U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker could answer the question everyone was asking of how and when this ends. It's in the news, so it must be news, right?

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post has always had a knack for cleverly capturing the ridiculous when it comes to the federal government. His feature on senators' pontifications during the hearings may be the story on the Petraeus report worth reading today. South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint gets to hold the position of Favorite Republican Senator in my book for, oh, the next five minutes or so (a good long time to hold that position, after it will again probably revert to either Sen. Hagel, a man decent enough to not run again for his seat, or the ever-popular <seat vacant>) for the following:

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) thought it best not to open himself to charges of hypocrisy. "Our hearings are more about listening to ourselves than listening to our witnesses," he said, "and I promise to continue that tradition myself."

Democrats are finally starting to get some good press with regards to domestic policy, after what everyone who chooses to ignore the agenda passed in the first 100 hours calls "a slow start." From the article in The Hill:

The passage of the student loan bill on Friday is the fourth measure headed to President Bush’s desk from the Democrats’ “Six in ’06” campaign pledge. If Bush signs the education bill as expected, three of the Democrats’ high-profile legislative promises will have become law less than nine months into their majority.

In Election '08 news — oh, wait, didn't candidates already get enough publicity with the Iraq hearings? Well, I'll just throw in one more observation: In the first poll of Republican candidates after Thompson's official declaration, he is already in a statistical tie for first with Giuliani. Just goes to show, as long as there's no real frontrunner, it's never too late to throw your hat in (OK, that's not true, but it's clearly not too late just yet). Nature abhors a vacuum, which is precisely what the race for the Republican candidacy has at the #1 spot. So Thompson gets to contend for it. Here's to hoping for an ugly, bloody Republican primary.

There's apparently some funny politics going on in the Dallas City Council, the DMN reports. Chairmanships for the seven city council committees have been announced by new Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert. And apparently only one person on the council did not receive any sort of chairmanship or vice chairmanship — Councilwoman Angela Hunt. Name sound familiar? If you've been following the mess of politics surrounding the Trinity River Project, it probably should. As the DMN says, Leppert and Hunt are "the de facto leaders of opposing efforts to determine the fate of Dallas' Trinity River Corridor project." Councilman Hunt was not only not given a chairmanship, but she was not even given a seat on the Trinity River committee. So apparently there's a bit of tension there. I have the funny feeling that we may end up seeing her making appearances at committee meetings anyway. Call it a hunch.

And on a brief end note, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his resignation today. "But, George," you ask, "what does this have to do with American politics?"

Abe, grandson of a 1950s prime minister, rose to political prominence on one issue — taking a hawkish stand against North Korea over its abduction of Japanese citizens in the '70s and 80s — but was never able to establish himself on anything else.

"His agenda did not resonate with the public," [Temple University Japan history professor Jeff] Kingston says. "What people care about is bread and butter. He didn't take care of business. He ignored (fundamental economic issues), and he paid a price."

In American, this translates to, "It's the economy, stupid."