International:
Bush: No Bailing on Iraq Before Helping Find Political Solution
President Bush said Wednesday that he is not planning on bailing out of Iraq "before the job is done" and will reject other ideas that won't help the Iraqi government "take the necessary and hard steps" to get a political solution to end the violence there.

Bush spoke to reporters after meeting with military commanders at the Pentagon. The topic: options on a way forward in Iraq, including the possibility of sending more troops there to get better control of the insurgency and end sectarian violence.

Calling it a "candid and fruitful discussion," Bush said that in a round of consultations he heard both some interesting ideas and some "ideas that would lead to defeat."

"And I reject those ideas," Bush said with the Joint Chiefs of Staff by his side.

Bush to seek $100 bln more war funds: House report

George W. Bush will soon seek about $100 billion in additional emergency funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a report on Wednesday by Democratic staffers for two key panels in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Such a large request would mark a rapid escalation in the cost of the Iraq war at a time when public support is plummeting and Bush is looking for new answers to stem violence that threatens to spin out of control.

In a broad report criticizing Republicans' fiscal decisions, Democratic staffers on the House Appropriations Committee and House Budget Committee also noted that Congress already had appropriated about $379 billion for the war in Iraq. More Here

Former Cheney Adviser: ‘Iraq Is Now Bush’s Baby, And Cheney Doesn’t Want To Be Tarred With It’
Questioning why Vice President Cheney has been “publicly silent and mostly out of sight” since the Iraq Study Group issued its report, U.S. News reports that a former Cheney adviser believes the vice president is now cutting-and-running from the “grave and deteriorating” situation in Iraq:
“I think we’ll see less of him than ever,” says the associate. “Iraq is now Bush’s baby, and Cheney doesn’t want to be tarred with it in the eyes of historians.” More info here

National:
"First 100 Hours"
Speaker-Designate Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds a press conference to explain her agenda for the new 110th Congress. This plan, to be launched during the House's first 100 legislative hours, includes lobby reforms, "pay-as-you-go" budgets, a minimum wage in-crease, & other changes. The new session begins on Jan. 4, 2007. Watch it on C-Span THURS., C-SPAN, 10AM ET

John McCain’s War On Blogs
John McCain has made clear that he doesn’t like the blogosphere. Now he has introduced legislation that would treat blogs like Internet service providers and hold them responsible for all activity in the comments sections and user profiles. Some highlights of the legislation

S.D. Sen. Tim Johnson undergoes surgery

Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson underwent surgery after being hospitalized with symptoms of a stroke just weeks before his party, with only a one-vote majority, was to take control of the Senate.

Apart from the risk to his health, Johnson's illness carried political ramifications. Democrats emerged from last month's elections with a 51-49 Senate majority. If he were forced to relinquish his seat, a replacement would be named by South Dakota's GOP Gov. Mike Rounds.

In Other News...

“Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq’s Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq,” the New York Times reports. “King Abdullah also expressed strong opposition to diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran.”

"As President Bush weighs new policy options for Iraq, strong support has coalesced in the Pentagon behind a military plan to ‘double down’ in the country with a substantial buildup in American troops, an increase in industrial aid and a major combat offensive against Muqtada Sadr,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

54 percent of Americans believe Bush will be judged as a below-average or poor president, more than double the negative rating given any of his five most recent predecessors. Just 19 percent expect him to be seen as outstanding or above average, placing him last among the six.
28 percent of Americans approve of President Bush’s handling of the Iraq war. Just 34 percent believe the United States is winning the war.

From The Right: Tony Blankley: The lonely president
For rarely has a president stood more alone at a moment of high crisis than does our president now as he makes his crucial policy decisions on the Iraq War.

From The Left: Levin at Brookings: Redeploy/Withdraw
"The President's position contains the same flaw that General Abizaid has pointed to when explaining why it would be unwise to increase the number of US troops. General Abizaid stated: 'We want the Iraqis to do more. It's easy for the Iraqis to rely upon us.... More American forces prevent the Iraqis from doing more, from taking more responsibility for their own future.'" [so much for listening to 'Generals on the ground']

Quote Of The Day: "I never understand that question, you have a President that's in deep shit. He got us into the war, and all the reasons he gave have been proven invalid, and the whole electorate was so pissed off that they got rid of anyone they could have, and then they ask, 'What is the Democrats' solution?'" Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), when asked what the Democrats should do about Iraq.

(Sources: C-Span, ThinkProgress, FOXNews,Reuters, Drudge Report, NYT, LATimes, USAToday, WashingtonPost, USNews, ABCNews, New York Observer, Political Cartoons.com, TruthOut, TownHall)