Senate Leader Becomes Chief Critic of Bush

The Democratic leader's provocative language has lifted GOP morale on Capitol Hill, helping to galvanize Republicans against withdrawal. "I don't question his motives, but what he's saying isn't hard to argue with," said Sen. Thad Cochran (Miss.).

Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), a leader among Democrats on veterans issues, said Reid's outspoken approach has helped to embolden some of her more cautious colleagues. "There are a lot of people who are looking for a strong voice in our Democratic caucus," Murray said. Reid's increasingly impassioned statements have "given them some of the words they need."

Reid acknowledged that his war views have evolved, from when he was one of 29 Democrats voting to authorize the invasion to his current pro-withdrawal stance. Two weeks ago, Reid co-sponsored legislation with Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), a war opponent, to cut off funding for most combat operations within a year.

Reid said two recent experiences were pivotal in his changed position. The first took place on March 9, when Reid learned that Raul Bravo, a 21-year-old Marine from Elko, Nev., had been killed by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad. The senator called Bravo's mother to express condolences to her and her three daughters. He asked how the family was doing, and the mother responded, "Not well. He was the only man in our lives."

The second occurred March 20, when Reid visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center with several Senate colleagues. He introduced himself to a young soldier who had been shot in the stomach. The man described to Reid how his friend, who had been sitting next to him, was "vaporized" in the attack. The soldier was suffering from nightmares, crying spells and fits of rage that caused him to kick in a wall.

"It's obvious with his blank stare that someone will have to be helping him for a long time," Reid said yesterday. But the visit "changed my view about the necessity to do something sooner rather than later."

In a speech today at the Brookings Institution, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) will seek to tie together a series of Bush administration scandals, controversies and missteps into what he argues is a campaign to turn the government into an appendage of the Republican Party.

The speech will mark a shift from Democrats calling the Bush administration incompetent to preparing a darker case, accusing the administration of harboring malevolent intent.

"Under this administration, the federal government has become a stepchild of the Republican Party," Emanuel will say, according to a prepared text. "And in promoting its partisan interests, absolutely nothing is out of bounds -- from our national security to our justice system and everything in between."

Staff writer Michael Abramowitz contributed to this report.