AP News, April 26th, 2007
Some of the sharp rhetoric between Republicans and Democrats in recent days:
"Not since the days of Watergate, when our judicial system and intelligence community were deployed by the White House in the service of partisan politics, have we seen such abuses. And in many ways, what we have seen from this administration is far more extensive than that scandal." _ Rep. Rahm Emmanuel, D-Ill., chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
"Each bill (by the Democrats) would also set an arbitrary deadline for surrender and withdrawal in Iraq, and I believe that would have disastrous consequences for our safety here at home." _ President Bush.
"It is shameful that while our troops wake up every morning and courageously face death in defense of our freedom, the politicians in charge of Congress can't even find the time to meet face to face with their commander." _ House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, after Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., did not attend a briefing by Lt. General David H. Petraeus on conditions in Iraq.
"For the first time, the president will have to be accountable for this war in Iraq. And he does not want to face that reality." _ Pelosi.
"Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success." _ House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
"Instead of fashioning a bill I could sign, the Democratic leaders chose to further delay funding our troops, and they chose to make a political statement. That's their right. But it is wrong for our troops and it's wrong for our country." _ Bush.
"I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense and _ you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows _ (know) this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday" _ Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
"What's most troubling about Senator Reid's comments yesterday is his defeatism. And the timetable legislation that he is now pursuing would guarantee defeat. Maybe it is a political calculation." _ Vice President Dick Cheney.
"I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with the administration's chief attack dog. ... I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating"_ Reid in response to Cheney.
"The president's in his bunker on both the war in Iraq and Attorney General (Alberto) Gonzales. What everyone else sees clearly he doesn't see at all, and that's a real problem for our country" _ Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
"I think that what happens in Washington at times of high drama and passion on both sides of the aisle, and on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, that there are times when you're trying to make your substantive point, that the rhetoric can sometimes lead you to say things that you might not otherwise say in a one-on-one conversation." _ White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino.
