What Is Mainstream?

Benchmarks Watch

Remember that poll result I mentioned above -- that 66 percent of Americans support reducing U.S. military and financial support for the Iraqi government if the Iraqis fail to make progress toward national unity and restoring civil order?

So one could reasonably conclude that the American public cares about whether or not the Iraqis are meeting their benchmarks.

And as it happens, the White House yesterday was inviting media attention to the good news concerning one of the key early benchmarks that officials had set for the Iraqis.

The White House in January identified three such key benchmarks: The arrival of three new Iraqi brigades in Baghdad by mid-February, political reforms that would allow Baath Party members to serve in the government, and agreement about how to distribute oil revenues.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, it is that last one that is more or less on course.

Joshua Partlow and Ernesto Londoño write in The Washington Post: "Iraq's cabinet approved draft legislation Monday that would enable the government to manage the country's vast oil resources and distribute revenue throughout the country, a step toward meeting a U.S. demand that the country's parliament pass such a law. . . .

"The draft oil law, approved by Iraq's cabinet after months of intense negotiations, must still be approved by parliament. Ministers agreed to a goal of enacting the legislation by May, a senior Iraqi official said on condition of anonymity."

Edward Wong writes in the New York Times: "The law also grants regional oil companies or governments the power to sign contracts with foreign companies for exploration and development of fields, opening the door for investment by foreign companies in a country whose oil reserves rank among the world's three largest. . . .

"Since last year, senior Bush administration officials and top American commanders here have said a new oil law is crucial to the country's political and economic development, and they have pressured Iraqi leaders relentlessly to make passage of the law a priority."

Christian Berthelsen and Tina Susman write in the Los Angeles Times: "Iraqi parliament members were cautious about the plan Monday night, noting that no details had been released. . . .

"Some analysts say the law also will be viewed dimly as another way for the U.S. to get its hands on the country's oil.

"Antonia Juhasz, an analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington who has written extensively on the economic aspects of the invasion of Iraq, said throwing open the oil industry to foreign investment -- which no doubt would include U.S. interests -- would only heighten Iraqis' distrust of the United States. . . .

"'Most people in Iraq assume the U.S. invasion was about oil. When the people of Iraq learn that the majority of their oil fields are being turned over to foreign private production . . . it worries me."

And how about those other benchmarks?

As for those three brigades due last week, Joshua Partlow wrote in Monday's Washington Post: "The first brigade of 2,700 American reinforcements is patrolling the capital, bringing the total U.S. troop presence in Baghdad to 40,000, and members of three additional Iraqi military brigades have entered the city, though not at full strength. . . .

"Many people in Baghdad express deep reservations about the Iraqi security forces' ability and desire to battle their fellow citizens. U.S. soldiers say their Iraqi counterparts are swayed more by the anti-American speeches of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr than by the public appeals of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for even-handed enforcement."

And as for that political reform, Paul Richter wrote in Monday's Los Angeles Times: "Serious new divisions have emerged between the Bush administration and its Iraqi allies over the Baghdad government's refusal to enact a reform that the White House considers crucial to its new strategy for bringing the country's violence under control.

"In spite of a commitment by Iraq's prime minister to its passage, legislation that would ease rules barring former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from government service has been blocked by the country's Shiite-dominated parliament. . . .

"One U.S. official said the reform, far from advancing as promised, was 'moving backward' and 'almost dead in the water."

Diplomacy on the Horizon?

David Ignatius writes in PostGlobal: "The Bush administration has agreed to sit around a negotiating table with official representatives of Iran and Syria next month -- as part of a planned regional conference in Baghdad to discuss ways to stabilize Iraq.

"In joining the Baghdad conference, the administration is tiptoeing into what has become one of the most contentious issues in the roiling Iraq debate. Critics for months have been urging the administration to end its diplomatic isolation of Iran and Syria and begin a constructive dialogue with them about how to stabilize Iraq. . . .

"Though it will bring together American, Syrian and Iranian representatives, the Baghdad meeting doesn't signal a direct U.S. diplomatic engagement with Iran and Syria. A senior State Department official said Monday night that it wasn't likely there would be separate bilateral meetings with Iran or Syria. Rather, the planned Baghdad meeting is an extension of the administration's current policy of using the Iraqi government as the channel for discussions with Iran and Syria about Iraqi security."

Bush and the Governors

Robert Pear writes in the New York Times: "Governors clashed with the White House on Monday over the future of the popular Children's Health Insurance Program, an issue that some members of both parties said was as important as money for the Iraq war.

"In the session at the White House, when President Bush reported on progress of the war, governors pressed him to provide more money so they could guarantee health insurance for children. In response, administration officials said states should make better use of the money they already had. . . .

"In his budget this month, Mr. Bush said he wanted to return the program to its 'original objective' of covering children with family incomes less than twice the poverty level. . . .

"Having successfully expanded the health insurance programs in their states, some governors now suggest that the Bush administration is pulling the safety net out from under many children."

David Nitkin writes in the Baltimore Sun: "[Maryland] Gov. Martin O'Malley sat tight-lipped through a White House meeting with President Bush yesterday and later criticized the president, saying he spent more time defending the administration's Iraq policy than addressing concerns about health care and immigration raised by the nation's governors. . . .

"Only the association's chairwoman, Gov. Janet Napolitano, an Arizona Democrat; and the vice chairman, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican from Minnesota, questioned Bush directly.

"'President Bush answered each of them, and went back to vamping for about 15 or 20 minutes as to why he is exactly right in what he is doing with the decisions he has made to get us into Iraq and to escalate the war,' O'Malley said."

Libby Watch

Carol D. Leonnig and Amy Goldstein write in The Washington Post: "The jury considering whether I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby is guilty of perjury lost one of its members after nearly three days of deliberation yesterday, but the presiding judge ordered the panel to continue working to reach a decision.

"U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton dismissed the juror, an art curator in her 70s, after she disclosed to her peers that she had come in contact over the weekend with information about the case of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff. . . .

"According to courthouse sources, the woman sought information that led her to material about the case over the weekend and realized yesterday morning that it was inappropriate to do so. Courthouse officials said Walton instructed the dismissed juror not to talk to the media until the case concludes."

Neil A. Lewis writes in the New York Times: "Theodore V. Wells Jr., Mr. Libby's lead defense lawyer, said that to add a new juror and restart deliberations would be prejudicial to his client. 'It would be inappropriate and unfair' to discard the deliberations thus far, Mr. Wells argued.

"Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the chief prosecutor, said that the government believed a replacement juror should be seated and that there was no doubt the 11 remaining jurors would follow the judge's instructions to begin their deliberations anew.

"But Judge Walton said he did not want to 'throw away' the time the jury had already spent considering the case. . . .

"The decision by Mr. Libby's defense team to urge that the trial proceed without a new 12th juror seemed to be counter to conventional wisdom in such situations, lawyers said.

"Because a unanimous jury is needed for a guilty verdict, a defendant need convince only one juror of his innocence to avoid a conviction. As a result, lawyers said, defense lawyers prefer to have as many sitting jurors as possible to increase the chances of having someone who refuses to vote for a guilty verdict."

But Richard B. Schmitt writes in the Los Angeles Times: "One observer said the lawyers' opposing views on the size of the jury suggested each was seeking a tactical advantage. 'At the very least, it probably means that Fitzgerald liked the alternates and Wells did not,' said Guy Singer, a Washington lawyer and former Justice Department prosecutor.

"The dismissed juror had demonstrated an independent streak, which could have assisted the defense.

"When the trial was about to resume on Valentine's Day, jurors paraded into Walton's courtroom with red shirts marked with white hearts. The only one to abstain from the sartorial statement was the former curator, who worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

"A conviction would require that all jurors find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; the woman's lack of participation suggested she might not be inclined to go along with the pack."

Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts write in The Washington Post: "With a massive snowstorm canceling Sunday flights out of Chicago, how did Very Special Prosecutor (and former People mag 'Sexiest Man Alive' runner-up) Patrick Fitzgerald make it to the Scooter Libby trial at 9:30 yesterday morning? 'Alternate means,' he told our colleague Carol Leonnig, meaning: He drove. All 15 hours or whatever! Whatta guy."

Iran and Iraq

David Zucchino writes in the Los Angeles Times: "In the latest attempt to link the deadliest form of roadside bombs in Iraq to components manufactured in Iran, U.S. Army officers Monday displayed plastic explosives they said were made in Iran and uncovered during a raid Saturday in violence-racked Diyala province.

"An Army explosives expert said the C-4 plastic explosives were used to make bombs the military calls EFPs -- explosively formed projectiles. . . .

"The cache was part of what was believed to be the first EFP manufacturing site found in Iraq, officers said. They had previously assumed that most EFPs were assembled outside the country.

"Officers said they did not know where the copper plates were manufactured, or by whom. They also said they could not prove who supplied the materials or who was building the EFPs.

"The briefing was the third in two weeks in which U.S. military officials put forth evidence that they said showed Iran's hand in Iraq's violence. In contrast with previous sessions, officers at Monday's display were careful not to accuse the Iranian government of involvement. U.S. officials have had to backtrack from previous assertions of direct involvement by Iran's top government officials."

Laura Bush Watch

Larry King interviewed Laura Bush on CNN last night. She finds the war "wearying" but blames the media for discouraging people.

"KING: Has the war -- I don't know if it's a good term -- worn you down? I mean, the public, obviously the -- more people disapprove than approve. It's hurt the standing of the presidency.

"What has it done to you?

"BUSH: Well, of course, it's wearing, wearying. There's no doubt about it. And I understand how the American people feel and that they feel like things aren't going like we want them to there.

"On the other hand, I know how important it is for us to continue to help the Iraqis and that to leave now would be a serious mistake. And I really agree with the president on that, that the Iraqi government needs to get up and running as fast as they can.

"And, of course, we want our troops to come home. Nobody wants war. No one's pro-war. We want the -- to be able to have a democracy there, to have the people in Iraq, who have been oppressed by a dictatorship for all these years, to be able to build a good government that represents everyone. And I think it'll happen.

"KING: Is it going to be fast?

"BUSH: No. And we never expected it to be fast.

"KING: So it's going to be going on when you leave office?

"BUSH: Probably. I mean I have no idea and there's no way I could predict. But I hope not. I hope that they can build their government and reconcile with each other and build a country. This is their opportunity to seize the moment, to build a really good and stable country. And many parts of Iraq are stable now. But, of course, what we see on television is the one bombing a day that discourages everybody."

The liberal ThinkProgress Web site points out it's not just one bombing a day: "According to the latest Brookings Institution Iraq Index, as of November 2006, there were approximately 185 insurgent and militia attacks every day."

And I would add: We rarely see even one a day on television. Particularly when it comes to visuals, we continue to be shielded from the horror.

Ask the White House

White House Internet and e-communications director David Almacy will host " Ask the White House" Thursday afternoon to discuss the newly redesigned White House Web site.

Almacy told me yesterday that the redesign was an attempt to make the site look a bit cleaner and to call more attention to RSS feeds and podcasts.

"We've not removed any content," Almacy said, in response to some blogospheric conspiracy theories. Various items some bloggers are complaining were scrubbed from the site were never there to start with.

Cartoon Watch

Tony Auth on the wrong mouse hole; John Sherffius on Bush and Osama; Garry Trudeau continues his week-long look in "Doonesbury" at Iraqi troop readiness; and Ann Telnaes, who is trying her hand at animated cartoons, on Cheney Antoinette.

Live Online

I'll be Live Online tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET. Come join the conversation.