Post Politics Hour

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Washington Post White House reporter Michael Abramowitz was online Tuesday, Jan. 2, at 11 a.m. ET.

The transcript follows.

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N. Dartmouth, Mass.: Hi Mike; The '06 midterms sent a mandate to D.C. to listen. Why does Bush continue on this dead-end road in Iraq? The prospect of sending more troops into Baghdad is in stark contrast of the voters' mandate. What does this man not understand about enough is enough?

Michael Abramowitz: Good morning everybody.

Getting some questions on Iraq, so why don't we start there. We do not know for sure what President Bush plans to do on Iraq, but it does seem clear that he does not intend to be withdrawing American troops anytime soon. He still believes that it is possible to earn some kind of "victory" in Iraq, and that is what is driving him. He takes a different view of the elections than you do: he says he believes that voters do not want to get out of Iraq but want a better strategy for success.

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Plano, Tex.: Any new scoop on what, if anything, different about the approach to Iraq Mr. Bush's speech is going to include?

Michael Abramowitz: I would guess that the speech will have several elements. One is increasing the size of the American troop presence in Iraq to help improve security in Baghdad. Another is a package of economic incentives to woo disaffected Iraqi youth from the insurgency and sectarian violence. I also suspect he will set up some kind of plan for greater training of Iraq troops, while setting political milestones that the Iraqi government must meet. I am sure there will be surprises too.

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Bowie, Md.: Today the Post reported the Democrats are excluding Republicans from making legislation, at least for the first 100 hours. If the Democrats still exclude the GOP after the 100 hours and Bush were to start complaining about it, what do you think the public's reaction would be?

Michael Abramowitz: It's hard to say. I think the Republican majority was eventually hurt by a perception of high-handedness in dealing with its political rivals. But that took some time to sink in. The Democrats say they will be reaching out to Republicans over the next six months, and only time will tell whether that pledge is sincere.

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League City, Tex.: Why do the newsmen and newswomen begin any question to the President at his news conferences with a long monolog which generally defines the way the President must answer the question or be in conflict with their monologue? Sometimes this reporter's monologue is longer than the President's answer and every time it is loaded with the political bias of the reporter, usually with bias and talking points from the party other than the President's. On the rare occasion there is a straight question, even the President laughs. Why can't newsmen ask questions without trying to "show up" the President?

Michael Abramowitz: I think there is a mixture of kinds of questions you hear at press conferences. I agree that the most effective tend to be concise and to the point, in part because they give the president less of an opportunity to seize on a peripheral point to perhaps avoid the question.

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Martha's Vineyard, Mass.: Mr. Abramowitz,

When questions are asked at Presidential news conferences are they pre screened or have any pre arrangements been made with the press?

Michael Abramowitz: No pre-screening at all, and no one knows for sure who is going to be called on.

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Louisburg, N.C.: On a recent segment of Lou Dobbs on CNN, Ed Rollins, the Republican strategist was asked who the Republicans feared the most in the Democratic field. His answer, "John Edwards." Does that help answer the question about his potential for the nomination?

Michael Abramowitz: I definitely think Edwards is a potentially formidable candidate. Obviously now he's grasping for attention in a contest so far dominated by Obama and Hillary Clinton. But he's a strong speaker, he's been organizing for a while and he's been spending a lot of time in Iowa. I think if the frontrunners trip up, he'll have his chance.

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Minneapolis, Minn.: Two questions. Your story yesterday, along with Bob Novak's column, strongly suggested that Republicans in Congress are sending a message to the White House not to push for military escalation in the revamped Iraq strategy. Do you think it will work? Second, what do you make of the fact that the Iranians detained in Iraq the other week were arrested in a raid on the compound of Hakim, the head of SCIRI - currently viewed as the "good" Shiites by some in the administration, particularly the OVP, in contrast to al Sadr and JAM? Was it a warning to SCIRI not to mess with the Iranians? Was it just a mistake? Or does it signify that OVP is not, in fact, winning the intra-administration debate?

Michael Abramowitz: I can't address the issue of the Iranians--I don't know enough about the situation to comment intelligently.

I do think Republicans in Congress are very nervous about the idea of a troop surge, as your question suggests, but in the end I am not sure how much it will affect the president. He knows that his legacy depends on a successful outcome in Iraq, and I think he will pursue that the way he sees fit, regardless of what GOP lawmakers think. He does not face the voters again, and he will be able to find some support for putting more troops there from people like McCain and some (though not all) military commanders. I think he still is approaching this as if he has a free hand.

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Los Gatos, Calif.: Good Morning:

Do you think that would have been a reevaluation of tactics in Iraq by the President if the Republicans had won the election in '06? It seems to me that this should be an ongoing process irrespective of politics, but the administration is only changing tactics as a response to the election? What are your perceptions?

Michael Abramowitz: My sense if that the Republican losses were the major galvanizing factor, but that Bush has been definitely having misgivings about his strategy for some time. How could he not given how badly things went in Iraq in 2006?

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Waterville, Maine: Good morning,

I have been following the funeral plans for former President Ford today. Notably absent (unless I missed it) from the expected attendees and tributes is former President Jimmy Carter. I understand Presidents Carter and Ford were close friends. Why the omission? I certainly hope that former President Carter is well. Thanks for the insight.

Michael Abramowitz: President Carter is in the audience but is not speaking at the funeral.

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Philadelphia, Pa.: One thing about national defense is the public doesn't just think Dems are weak, they don't really know where they stand largely because of the fracticious nature of the Dems. How united are Democrats on or against this surge?

Michael Abramowitz: I think with the exception of Sen. Lieberman, who now calls himself an Independent Democrat, Democrats are pretty negative about the troop surge. Both Joe Biden and Carl Leven came out with strong statements against it last week, and Harry Reid--who seemed to open the door a bit to the idea a few weeks ago--has been trying to shut it.

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Chicago, Ill.: Do you see the Iraq war and all its consequences will leave as painful a scar on politics and culture like Viet Nam? In 30 years, will people ask politicians, "what did you do during the war?"

Michael Abramowitz: My guess, and this is obviously just speculation, is that Iraq will represent a looming presence in American politics and culture for years to come, just like Vietnam. One interesting question will be how will it affect our standing in the world and our foreign policy twenty or thirty years out. In the end, the loss in Vietnam--as painful as it way--seemed not to have been as damaging to our interests and standing in the world as some predicted. I am not sure the same will be said of Iraq.

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Sherrill, N.Y.: Is there any indication that Presidential intransigence on Iraq will help or harm his ability to carry out his domestic agenda? Will a surge create the perception that the President is a strong and independent leader or will it be seen as more incompetence in a string of bad decisions making his domestic policy suspect as well as the foreign policy?

Michael Abramowitz: I am not sure there is a connection. I think the president will be very hard-pressed to advance an aggressive domestic agenda given the war and given the loss of majorities on Capitol Hill.

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Fort Wayne, Ind..: Michael,

Who is the most likely VP, in either party, right now, without knowing who the nominee will be?

Thanks!

Michael Abramowitz: OK, here are some possibilities: On the Democratic side: Vilsack of Ohio, Bayh of Indiana and Sebelius of Kansas. Maybe Obama if his presidential chances falter.

On the Republican side: Pawlenty of Minnesota, Jeb Bush, maybe Condi Rice if she is interested in elective office.

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Washington, D.C.: About President Carter's role at President Ford's funeral: This just appeared on the Post chat about the funeral itself: "It's been reported many times that President Ford and President Jimmy Carter had an agreement that whichever passed away first, the other would speak at his funeral. President Carter, while not speaking today, will be the main speaker at the Michigan funeral."

Michael Abramowitz: OK, an alert reader passes this on.

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Vienna, Va.: Have you read about the leaked memo from the Giuliani campaign? It admits numerous challenges confronting his campaign: fundraising, Giuliani's failure to discipline his time, his views on social issues, his messy personal life, etc. And several of the people mentioned in the memo as top fundraisers have already signed up with McCain or Romney.

Michael Abramowitz: I don't know much about this memo, but it does seems a little crazy putting down all this stuff on paper, knowing stuff like this often leaks.

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Arlington, Va.: Regarding media questions for the president, the long introductions to narrow his potential responses. This would not be necessary if the president would answer questions; he does not, he rather uses them to state unrelated talking points, thus it is necessary to try to limit the scope of his response by cutting off known tangents ex ante.

Michael Abramowitz: Here's another view on presidential questioning.

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Raleigh, N.C.: Happy New Year!!

As the White House correspondent, what is your working day like? My assumption is that it's closer to an 8-5 job than is the norm for political reporters, especially given the tight message discipline of the Bush White House. (No late night rendezvous in parking garages with these guys!) What does your work week look like?

Michael Abramowitz: My wife would be amused to hear my job described as 9 to 5! Luckily I share the job with two great colleagues, Peter Baker and Mike Fletcher, and we try to split up responsibility for the breaking news--which can be considerable on a beat like the White House. There's also a lot of travel, and when you travel, especially out of the country, those days can be pretty grueling. On the other hand, there is down time, such as when we're in Crawford for the president's vacations. So I would say it's a mixture--some days you can get out of the office by 6 or so, on others, you have to stay much later.

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Kettering, Ohio: Vilsack is from Iowa. With the havoc caused by Dick Celest and Vern Riffe, Vilsack would have never come to power in Ohio.

Michael Abramowitz: I mistyped. Thanks for pointing that.

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New York, N.Y.: Hi Michael,

Happy New Year. My question has to do with Barack Obama. Do you think his exponential rise in popularity is a political liability? What are the biggest obstacles for him aside from his little experience in politics? And finally, do you think his whole theme of being uninfluenced by the (corruption of the) body politic and fresh to the scene make for a viable argument for his presidential bid? I'm not sure if I do.

Thanks!

Michael Abramowitz: I suppose his exponential rise could potentially create a backlash, with journalists fly-specking his statements and record for inconsistencies and problems. I do think his biggest liability remains his relative inexperience in public life, but I think that is something he will be able to overcome. That's not been a bar to others, such as the current president or John Kennedy.

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South Orange, N.J.: Thank you for taking my comment.

I'm always surprised to hear Gerald Ford's pardon of Nixon referred to as an act that healed America. I thought that a good deal of the Republican angst directed toward the Clintons (Whitewater investigation, Starr investigation, impeachment proceedings) was Watergate backlash. It never appeared the pardon returned civility to the two party system, rather it created a rift which hasn't been healed to this day.

Michael Abramowitz: I think you raise a good point about the lasting impact of Watergate, but what I don't know--what nobody knows--is would it have been worse if there were no pardon and there had been a Nixon trial?

Folks, I am out of time--thanks for all the good questions.

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