Cheney vs. Reid on Iraq

Vice President Cheney, visiting Capitol Hill yesterday, blasted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for “uninformed” comments on Iraq.

The vice president is often seen in the Senate, but rarely heard. But he broke with his normal custom yesterday to add his acerbic voice to those of Republicans who have chastised Reid with mounting severity since he said on Thursday that “this war is lost.”

{mosads}Cheney’s unusual statement, in the Ohio Clock Corridor, opened a new front in Congress’s war of words over the supplemental. The Senate GOP appeared to take a page from its House counterparts, who have attacked Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the war-funding bill approaches an almost certain veto.

Cheney accused the Democratic leader of taking a defeatist posture to win elections.

“I usually avoid press comments when I’m up here,” Cheney said, “but I felt so strongly about what Senator Reid said … that I thought it was appropriate that I come out today.

“It is cynical to declare that the war is lost because you believe it gives you political advantage. Leaders should make decisions based on the security of our country, not on the interests of their political party.”

Reid has defended but not repeated his assessment of the war as lost, and has urged President Bush to discuss a compromise with Democrats that reflects their desire to hasten troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Moments after the vice president left the upper chamber, Reid hit back. Speaking at the same microphone that Cheney had used, he said, “I’m not going to get into a name-calling match with the administration’s chief attack dog.”

Reid’s spokesman, Jim Manley, issued a statement later, saying, “Vice President Cheney should be the last person to lecture anyone on how leaders should make decisions.

“Leaders should make decisions based on facts and reality, two words that seem to be foreign to the Vice President … To suggest he lacks credibility would be an understatement.

“The vice president’s and others’ attacks on those who disagree with their failed policies are signs of desperation. They are lashing out because they know … the American people and a bipartisan majority are determined to force this Administration to change course in Iraq.” 

Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said that since 2001, Cheney has not addressed the media as he did yesterday. But Lott discounted the notion that criticizing Reid’s comment as a stand-in target for the Democratic supplemental could backfire on Republicans.

“There’s a feeling in the country that Senator Reid made a mistake here, that he badly overstepped,” Lott said. In a nod to his own 2002 fall from grace over remarks on race, he added, “I understand that maybe things come out differently than you intended. … [Reid] needs to figure out how to back away from this.”

Sen. Jon Kyl (Ariz.), the GOP conference chairman, likened Reid’s comments on the war to a child who throws his breakfast dish on the floor to express dislike of the food.

“There is a time when the political discourse becomes so irresponsible that it requires a response in kind,” Kyl said, praising Cheney for going on the offensive.

Republican senators said they were not informed of Cheney’s intention to speak until this morning. The vice president is a frequent guest at the GOP policy luncheons, often doing little more than listening. Still, Cheney’s appearance yesterday was a surprise to many after a morning health scare sent him to the doctor and prompted Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) to cancel a public event at which he planned to unveil articles of impeachment against the vice president.

Cheney has served as a public messenger for some of the administration’s strongest statements on the war and the political landscape in Washington, criticizing Democratic leaders in stark terms. His remarks yesterday were measured by comparison, and Kyl doubted they would erode the upper chamber’s reputation for being more deliberative than the House.

“It can get very political, sometimes even personal,” Kyl said. “That’s all part of our system.”

The Senate is expected to take up and pass the $124 billion supplemental conference report tomorrow, which will begin the next act in the choreographed rhetorical battle between Democrats, the White House and its GOP allies. House leaders have discussed a 60-day bridge supplemental to allow negotiations on withdrawal language to continue, but senators in both parties have not warmed to the idea.

Another lingering question is whether Democrats will stage an effort to override the president’s veto, a move that would have no realistic chance of success, given the supplemental’s razor-thin margin of approval in both chambers. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said yesterday that an override would be “a waste of energy.”

Reid’s caucus members came to his defense almost immediately after Cheney’s comments began ricocheting through the Capitol. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the caucus secretary, hailed Reid for weathering the rhetorical blows.

“Senator Reid has been very adult,” Murray said. “I respect what he’s doing out there.”

Durbin took Reid’s side by reeling off past Cheney comments on the war that have proven false. “He said there were weapons of mass destruction. He was wrong. … He said we’d be greeted as liberators. Unfortunately he was wrong.”

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) issued a statement calling Cheney “the American Idol of outlandish claims.”

“It is time for the vice president to return to his secure, undisclosed location to rejoin his neocon friends rather than attack the majority leader who is fighting to keep faith with American troops,” Kerry said.

Another shot back at Cheney came at day’s end: Kucinich’s office said his planned impeachment press conference was back on.