Chris Cillizza
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Thursday, September 6, 2007 7:16 AM

California Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D) described a lingering disconnect between average Iraqis and their political leaders following a recent trip to the country, and said the nation remains "on its knees" more than four years after the U.S. invaded.

Tauscher's pointed criticism came on the eve of the release of the a report -- compiled by retired high-ranking military officers -- that suggests the Iraqi army will not be able to police the country on its own for another year or more.

Despite her belief that President Bush's troop surge is not working, Tauscher acknowledged that Democrats do not yet have a piece of legislation that would garner bipartisan support and serve as a "counterpunch the Administration really needs."

Looking ahead to 2008, Tauscher insisted her brand of centrist politics is not flagging, noting that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) "is very close to us and she is a moderate." Tauscher formally endorsed Clinton's presidential campaign on July 18.

Tauscher, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and chair of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, made her comments on "Post Talk" a washingtonpost.com web video interview program.

Having recently returned from her fourth trip to Iraq, Tauscher said she was struck by what she described as a "Green Zone fog" that separates those living within the area's borders from the rest of the country. She pointed out that members of the Iraqi leadership make their homes within the Green Zone and the country's parliament meets there as well; "I saw even a more pervasive sense that there is a groupthink in the Green Zone," she added.

Tauscher also expressed dismay that more Republicans had not followed the lead of Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) in calling for a withdrawal of American troops to begin by year's end. "We were all holding out hope that we would come back after a tough August¿.and that we would begin to have Republican join us," said Tauscher. "I don't see that happening."

Even within the Democratic ranks, Tauscher acknowledged, however, that some freshman Members representing districts that President Bush carried in 2004 remain wary of the potential fallout from voting against a bill to fund the troops.

"This Administration's capabilities of having the Rose Garden press conference and the kind of punitive rhetoric they're using is concerning to Members," she said.

The confluence of Republicans' unwillingness to break ranks, concerns from vulnerable Democratic Members about the potential backlash of a vote to de-fund the war and the inability of any current legislation to win 60 Senate votes needed to overcome a filibuster severely complicates Democrats' attempts to reverse course in Iraq this fall, according to Tauscher.

"I don't think we have a vehicle that will get 60 votes in the Senate," she said. "In the absence of that we're naked."