When is "The Petraeus Report" not "The Petraeus Report"?
When he has, apparently, nothing to do with it. Literally.
We learn now that Gen. David Petraeus might not even be the one who reports to congress on the progress of the Iraq occupation.
Senior congressional aides said yesterday that the White House has proposed limiting the much-anticipated appearance on Capitol Hill next month of Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker to a private congressional briefing, suggesting instead that the Bush administration's progress report on the Iraq war should be delivered to Congress by the secretaries of state and defense.
[...]
White House officials suggested to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week that Petraeus and Crocker would brief lawmakers in a closed session before the release of the report, congressional aides said. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates would provide the only public testimony.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) told the White House that Bush's presentation plan was unacceptable. An aide to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said that "we are in talks with the administration and . . . Senator Levin wants an open hearing" with Petraeus.
Those positions only hardened yesterday with reports that the document would not be written by the Army general but instead would come from the White House, with input from Petraeus, Crocker and other administration officials.
Frankly, I don't have a problem with this. We already know that White House aides are writing the report. Why does it matter who actually presents the pack of lies to congress?
Rather than insisting that Gen. Petraeus appear on stage, reading somebody else's script, I say Democrats should make the most of this opportunity to knock down the perception that The Report is anything more than a tactic to help Bush run out the clock on the occupation. Rather than reacting with anger, they should just laugh.
There he goes again, up to his old tricks! How stupid does he think the American people are?
Come on, Dems! Smarten up a bit. Play the hand you're dealt with a little finesse, and you can actually win this one.
Notes & Observations on the Post-Satirical Age