Tough Decisions...

International:
Report: Iraq Study Group Will Rule Out Victory In Iraq, Propose Redeployment

A 10-member bipartisan commission that is charged with assessing Bush’s Iraq strategy has reportedly “ruled out the prospect for victory.” A commission formed to assess the Iraq war and recommend a new course has ruled out the prospect of victory for America, according to draft policy options shared with The New York Sun by commission officials.

Currently, the 10-member commission — headed by former secretary of state for President George H.W. Bush, James Baker — is considering two option papers, “Stability First” and “Redeploy and Contain,” both of which rule out any prospect of making Iraq a stable democracy in the near term.

The commission was established at the instigation of Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), and was intended to “devise a fresh set of policies to help the president chart a new course.”

Bush noted at his press conference this week that he “supported the idea” of the so-called Iraq Study Group and that he “looks forward to listening” to the commission’s recommendations.

Among the leading options being considered by the task force is a redeployment plan:
The “Redeploy and Contain” option calls for the phased withdrawal of American soldiers from Iraq, though the working groups have yet to say when and where those troops will go. Redeployment offers the last best chance for Iraq. The longer Bush refuses to accept that, the weaker the U.S.’s position unnecessarily becomes.

British Army chief: ‘We must quit Iraq soon’
The head of the Army is calling for British troops to withdraw from Iraq “soon” or risk catastophic consequences for both Iraq and British society.

In a devastating broadside at Tony Blair’s foreign policy, General Sir Richard Dannatt stated explicitly that the continuing presence of British troops “exacerbates the security problems” in Iraq. Read it here

National:
Unwilling To Investigate Bush Administration, Congress Returns To Clinton
A group of conservative lawmakers, led by Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), called on House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) to once again investigate former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger’s handling of classified documents.

Lets me get this right… a Congress that has conducted “only minimal oversight” of the Bush administration wants to investigate a former Clinton administration official long out of office?

In a letter objecting to the investigation, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote:
"The Berger incident is not new, and there is no conceivable standard under which it would be considered a vitally important national security matter. As you know, the Justice Department thoroughly investigated the incident in 2004, and Mr. Berger pled guilty in April 2005 to a misdemeanor charge of taking classified documents without authorization. At the time of Mr. Berger’s please, Noel Hillman, the chief of the Justice Department’s public integrity section, said Berger “did not have an intent to hide any of the content of the documents.”

Evangelist: Hastert Promised Me ‘In One Week, He Will Be Stepping Down’
This afternoon on MSNBC, controversial evangelist K.A. Paul announced that Speaker Dennis Hastert promised him on Tuesday that “he would resign with one week.”

Paul met with Hastert on Tuesday for more than thirty minutes, during which time Paul says he asked Hastert to resign. Hastert’s spokesman described it as a “cordial discussion,” but claimed that Hastert had been “duped” into the meeting.

Also on MSNBC, Paul said: “I know almost all the major Republican political leaders in this country, spent hundreds of hours talking to them, counseling them, in the past 10 years. They have travelled with me extensively — Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, Tom DeLay, Dick Armey.” He added, “I have been a big supporter of President Bush. I have prayed with him before. He got on his knees.” See more here

Bill O’Reilly: ‘I Don’t See Any Leadership’
Fox News Channel host Bill O’Reilly says he doesn’t see much in the way of leadership among Republicans or Democrats heading into the 2008 presidential election.

O’Reilly, appearing as a guest on Fox’s "Cavuto on Business," told host Neil Cavuto that he is passionate about America, but dismayed at the political candidates that the country seems to offer.
"I’m looking for leadership and I’m not seeing it in either party,” O’Reilly said. "I’m looking for someone to deal with the tremendous problems of North Korea and Iran. Let’s be honest: We’re fighting Iran. If Iran wasn’t part of the equation, Iraq would be a free country and we wouldn’t have bombs going off every day.”

FOX News Poll: Few Would Change Vote Due to Foley Scandal
There has been little change in the past two weeks regarding intentions for the upcoming congressional election; by a 9-point margin, voters say they would vote for the Democratic candidate for Congress over the Republican if the election were held today, compared with an 11-point margin two weeks ago. Only 11 percent of voters say the congressional page scandal will be extremely important to their vote, although nearly half see the scandal as part of a larger pattern of Washington abuse of power rather than an isolated incident.. See poll results

Economy
Dow Reaches New Record Highs
U.S. stocks rallied Thursday, with the Dow industrials hitting a record high, as several consumer-oriented companies, including McDonald's Corp., reported earnings that topped estimates. More here.

Historical Perspective
When President Bush took office in 2001, the US had a yearly budget surplus of $284 billion. At that time, he predicted a $516 billion surplus for fiscal year 2006 [which should be here under A Blueprint for New Beginnings–funny though, I can’t pull it up right now (although I have the PDF), maybe it's being redacted! ] ;-)

Yesterday, the Bush administration announced that, in 2006, the federal government ran a deficit of $248 billion, missing its projection by $764 billion. President Bush considered this a smashing success. In a speech yesterday, Bush said the numbers were "proof that pro-growth economic policies work" and an example of "sound fiscal policies here in Washington."

Although the deficit declined from $318 billion last year, "the long-term outlook remains bleak." If the President is successful in implementing his economic agenda -- including making his tax cuts permanent for the wealthy -- "deficits will total nearly $3.5 trillion over the next 10 years."

The Bush main talking point yesterday was that he "cut the federal budget deficit in half" since 2004. This is only true in fantasy land. This year's deficit of $248 billion is more than half of the $413 billion deficit in 2004. In early 2004, the White House predicted a deficit of $512 billion, but that never happened. At the time, experts warned the number was inflated for political purposes. The political manipulation of budget estimates continues. Yesterday, Bush bragged, "In February this year we projected the federal budget deficit for 2006 would be $423 billion...Today's report...shows that the deficit came out at $248 billion -- so, $175 billion less than anticipated." It was "the biggest forecast miss in 21 years." Even his right-wing allies are skeptical. Brian Riedl of the conservative Heritage Foundation said, "The White House has a track record of projecting budget numbers to be a lot worse than they end up, which therefore helps them defeat the gloomy expectations and declare victory."

In Other News…
Former special assistant to President Bush on faith-based issues, David Kuo, writes in a new book that Karl Rove’s office referred to evangelical leaders as “the nuts.” Kuo said, “National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as ‘ridiculous,’ ‘out of control,’ and just plain ‘goofy.’”

On the Tonight Show, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) said, “To link me to George Bush is like linking me to an Oscar.”

“The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly widened to a record $69.9 billion in August as energy prices rose and the shortfall with China reached an all-time high,” the Commerce Department said yesterday.

“The levels of violence over the last few weeks are as high as they have been,” according to Gen. George Casey, the senior American commander in Iraq. While he anticipates the violence will eventually go down, “it’s not going to be something that we’re going to get done quickly.”

The Shiite-dominated parliament Wednesday passed a law allowing the formation of federal regions in Iraq, despite opposition from Sunni lawmakers and some Shiites who say it will dismember the country and fuel sectarian violence.

The Bush administration is blaming the intelligence agency for its North Korea policy failures. Officials tell the Washington Times that classified assessments stated that “Pyongyang did not have nuclear arms and until recently was bluffing about plans for a test.” The analyses in question were produced by senior officials within the office of the Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte.

From The Right:
Donald Lambro: Hope springs eternal for GOP
The party-preference polls, which turned upward in September for the GOP, were down sharply again in a roller-coaster election ride that has four weeks to go before it comes to an abrupt and merciful stop on Nov. 7.

From The Left:
Keith Olbermann: Why Does Habeas Corpus Hate America
Keith Olbermann discusses habeas corpus and examines the founding fathers' words: "'Depriving us of Trial by Jury' was actually considered sufficient cause to start a War of Independence, based on the then-fashionable idea that 'liberty' was an unalienable right."

Thought To Ponder:
Why didn't the President of the Uniteds States want a commission to investigate the "worst terrorist attack on US soil in history"?

(Sources: FOXNews, ThinkProgress, TownHall, TruthOut, NewsMax, Daily Mail, NY Sun, WashingtonMonthly, Whitehouse website, NY Times, Boston Globe, MSNBC, Gov’t Printing Office, US Dept of Treasury, Ctr for Budget Policy Priorities, Bloombers, Washington Post, PoliticalCartoons.com, Washington Times, NY Times)