(Late) Morning copy 02.15.2006

The House, Katrina, Democrats

The report from the House Select Committee on Katrina is set to be released today. The A.P. obtained a copy last night:

"The preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina should disturb all Americans," said the report, written by a Republican-dominated special House committee chaired by Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.

Guess what? The Democrats messed this one up too. The Hill reports: "House Dems are rethinking ‘sham’ panel." The always unimaginative Nancy Pelosi takes the negative road, others are more honest:

House Democratic leaders had mixed reactions yesterday to a sharply critical report on the federal government’s bungled response to Hurricane Katrina, as Rep. Nancy Pelosi called it “incomplete” while Rep. Steny Hoyer said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the findings.

At first I thought the Democrats were right to call for an independent investigation, but when the GOP pressed ahead the Dems should have come on board. Perhaps they could skip the first session, but not any after that. Moreover, a committee that features CT's Chris Shays is going to be middle-of-the-road (to some extent). It is always best to work with than sit out. Bravo, Dems. Keep making us proud!

The Long War

There is one must read today, and it comes from the Guardian. It is succinct and powerful, and the best explanation (that I have read) of the Special Forces Doctrine that is likely to replace the Bush (II) Doctrine:

Looking beyond the Iraq and Afghan battlefields, US commanders envisage a war unlimited in time and space against global Islamist extremism. "The struggle ... may well be fought in dozens of other countries simultaneously and for many years to come," the report says. The emphasis switches from large-scale, conventional military operations, such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq, towards a rapid deployment of highly mobile, often covert, counter-terrorist forces.

Shooting gallery

The vice president continues to mismanage a major (and continuously major-ifying*) story. This anonymous quote seems to be the best they can muster, from the New York Daily News:

Another GOP source told the Daily News that Cheney has been telling friends the average person probably can't comprehend the situation. "He knows most people don't understand how things like this can happen," the source said. "But people who are hunters understand it. This guy was in a place he shouldn't be."

Of course, most hunting experts say it is not that cut and dry, and I doubt a comment like this is going to steer the vice president into the good graces of the American people.

Dick Polman of the Philadelphia Inquirer puts the most bold analysis together and says the V.P. is in trouble. He lists many of the complex issues that have cast clouds on the V.P. before, and then:

Those are complex issues, bristling with lawyerly nomenclature and the kinds of nuances beloved only by think-tank habitues. But wounding a bystander in pursuit of quail - that's another matter. Here we have a case where Cheney chose (by his own inaction) not to inform his fellow Americans that the man who is one heartbeat away from the presidency had pulled a trigger and put somebody in intensive care.

In other words, this could be Dick Cheney's Killer Rabbit Moment.

Abramoff

The A.P. on Harry Reid:

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wrote at least four letters helpful to Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff, and the senator's staff regularly had contact with the disgraced lobbyist's partners about legislation affecting other clients.

The activities — detailed in billing records and correspondence obtained by Associated Press — are more extensive than previously disclosed.

And Karl Rove, in the Los Angeles Times:

Abramoff contacted presidential advisor Karl Rove on at least four occasions to help arrange a meeting, the witness said.

Finally, the former associate said, Rove's office called to tell Abramoff that the Malaysian leader soon would be getting an official White House invitation.

Neither the former Abramoff associate nor any others who spoke about the Malaysian contacts wanted their names used, out of fear they might damage future business opportunities.

For all the (well deserved) ire we Democratic bloggers hurl at Karl Rove, equal dose is due Harry Reid.

* Bad attempt to mimic Stephen Colbert