War Games

"Mr. McCain and Mrs. Clinton struck somber, respectful stances with General Petraeus in his appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee alongside Ryan C. Crocker, the American ambassador to Baghdad," says the New York Times. "Both candidates repeated their main arguments -- Mr. McCain said there was significant progress in Iraq, Mrs. Clinton said there was not -- but neither used the occasion to grandstand. Their modulated performances seemed to reflect the political risks in appearing too hard or soft on General Petraeus . . .

"Despite some tough political talk from Mrs. Clinton on the morning news programs (she told MSNBC that General Petraeus didn't have a "convincing argument" and said on ABC that "clearly the surge hasn't worked"), she greeted him like an old friend. For several minutes, while photographers swarmed, Mrs. Clinton smiled and talked animatedly with General Petraeus, looked straight into his eyes and lightly touched his arm."

Chicago Tribune: "Long-awaited congressional hearings unfolded Tuesday on the future of U.S. involvement in Iraq with a palpable sense that the debate has moved beyond President Bush . . .

"What emerged Tuesday was a complex, often indirect discussion between Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and the three forceful senators who are vying to become his next boss. Bush's name rarely came up, and his presence was not often felt--except in the attempts of all three to distance themselves from his policies."

L.A. Times: "The antiwar rhetoric from congressional Democrats remained as sharp as ever Tuesday as Army Gen. David H. Petraeus came to Capitol Hill to testify about progress in Iraq.

"But underscoring the partisan deadlock over the war, even some staunch critics acknowledged that the drive for legislation to withdraw U.S. troops was in effect over.

"Democrats who have struggled since becoming the majority last year to force a pullout now point to the fall election as the only hope for changing U.S. policy in Iraq."

One of the administration's staunchest allies is the Wall Street Journal editorial page:

"As General David Petraeus briefs Congress this week on Iraq, it's clear his surge has achieved remarkable results. The most crucial is that the U.S. can no longer be defeated militarily in Iraq, which could not be said a year ago. The question now is whether Washington will squander these gains by withdrawing so quickly that we could still lose politically."

For journalists, Mark Penn is the gift who keeps on giving (can you think of anyone who's had something positive to say about the guy in recent months?). Now we're into the what-were-they-thinking pieces, like this one from the New Republic's Michelle Cottle:

"By the end, it was hard to count all the reasons the members of Team Hillary wanted to see Mark Penn laid low. The rumpled, portly pollster's apparently unpardonable sin was his March 31 meeting with the Colombian ambassador to discuss the efforts of Penn's PR firm, Burson-Marsteller, to procure a trade pact specifically opposed by Senator Clinton. But Penn had been a focus of animus within the Hillary campaign from day one. Famous for his inability to play well with others, Penn is near universally regarded as rough, arrogant, antisocial, controlling, manipulative, brutally ambitious, and occasionally downright abusive--a hurler of cell phones, pagers, and Chinese food."

What, he attacked people with spareribs ?