Pelosi Weighs In

On the Maliki timeline question, which I asked her a few hours after the news broke, but her answer then is pretty similar to this:

President Bush has long maintained that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq should be governed by the situation in Iraq. It is now clear that the situation in Iraq is that Prime Minister al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders want the withdrawal of our combat forces to be completed within a 16-month period, as recommended by Senator Obama.

The safety of our troops demands that their withdrawal be well-planned. President Bush should direct officials of his Administration to meet immediately with their Iraqi counterparts to draft plans for the secure withdrawal of our forces within the timetable endorsed last week and today by Iraq's leaders. The honorable, responsible, and safe redeployment of our troops out of Iraq will enable us to refocus on the real war on terrorism in Afghanistan and around the world.

A lot of people are panning Speaker Pelosi's session at Netroots Nation, and it's true she engaged in an awful lot of buck-passing. However, Gina did try to ask some substantive follow-ups. The thing is that Pelosi is a pro who has been batting away questions for years. In the main, Pelosi is one of the better House members yet she's being sabotaged by the rest of her leadership. That's partly her own fault and I'd welcome a move by her to throw Emanuel and Hoyer under the bus, but it's not likely to be forthcoming. Her speakership is weak and the public gives Congress a 9% approval rating.

And of course, a lot of that buck-passing is CORRECT. The problem with most legislation is in the US Senate. That said, I would hope that, under a new President, the Speaker can take control of the political debate in a far better fashion. This Iraq quote is a good step.