A Failure of Leadership

"I say to all Americans, Republican, Democrat or Independent, if you believe America deserves leaders with a purpose more ennobling than expediency and opportunism, then vote for Governor Bush. If you believe patriotism is more than a soundbite and public service should be more than a photo-op then vote for Governor Bush.

"My friend, Governor Bush, believes in an America that is so much more than the sum of its divided parts. He wants to give you back a government that serves all the people no matter the circumstances of their birth. And he wants to lead a Republican Party that is as big as the country we serve."

Iraq Watch

Karen DeYoung and Ann Scott Tyson write in The Washington Post: "Pentagon leaders have recommended to President Bush that the United States make no further troop reductions in Iraq this year, administration officials said yesterday.

"The plan, delivered this week, calls for delaying additional drawdowns until late January or early February -- after the Bush administration has left office. At that point, up to 7,500 of the approximately 146,000 troops in Iraq could be withdrawn, depending on conditions on the ground there. The reduction would coincide with new deployments to Afghanistan, officials said. . . .

"Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq,. . . . cited several areas of ongoing concern, including the postponement of provincial elections initially scheduled for this month, the disputed status of the northern city of Kirkuk, lingering ethno-sectarian conflicts, and questions surrounding the future of a local security force known as the Sons of Iraq."

Julian E. Barnes writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Under the recommendation, the current level of about 140,000 troops would remain in Iraq through the end of Bush's presidency in January. . . .

"The recommendation contrasts with Petraeus' statements before Congress in May, when he predicted an autumn troop reduction, even if a small one."

Among other things, the decision represents the abject failure of Bush's much-ballyhooed principle of " return on success" -- at least during his presidency. Apparently even in Petraeus's estimation, the "success" in Iraq has not been sufficient to return the number of troops in Iraq to the pre-surge level of 130,000 -- not to mention start a serious drawdown.

Biden Backpedals

I wrote in yesterday's column about Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden's vow on Tuesday that criminal acts by the Bush administration would not go unpunished. "If there has been a basis upon which you could pursue someone for a criminal violation, they will be pursued -- not out of vengeance, not out of retribution; out of the need to preserve the notion that no one -- no one -- no attorney general, no president, no one is above the law," he said.

But Johanna Neuman blogs for the Los Angeles Times: "Asked about the comment [Thursday] morning on Fox News, Biden said it is Congress -- not a potential Obama administration -- that is investigating the White House.

"And he denied today that an Obama administration would launch criminal investigations against the 43rd president of the United States.

"'The Obama-Biden administration is not going to start off saying, "God, let's go take a lot at what [happened]." The American people want to know what we're going to do, not what happened.'"

CQ Politics has the transcript.

Froomkin Watch

Dan Froomkin will be away Monday. "White House Briefing" will return on Tuesday, September 9th.

Cartoon Watch

Steve Sack on the elephant under the rug, Tom Toles on McCain's warning, Mike Luckovich on Bush's lockout, Dwane Powell on the new sheriff, Bruce Plante on McCain's shadow, and Tony Auth Republican schizophrenia.