Dems heap praise on Petraeus, Crocker

At the beginning of the highly anticipated testimony of Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, top Democrats went out of their way to praise the two officials, while Republicans tried to tie the majority to a controversial ad that refers to Petraeus as “General Betray Us.”

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) called Petraeus a good friend and labeled him and Crocker “two of America’s finest.”

{mosads}Skelton also moved quickly to have anti-war protesters thrown out of the crowded hearing room.

“Out they go,” Skelton said when one was escorted out.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) called Crocker and Petraeus “two of our nation’s most capable public servants.”

Still, Republicans sought to tie Democrats to MoveOn.org’s controversial ad. House Armed Services Committee ranking Republican Duncan Hunter (Calif.) opened his remarks by letting Petraeus know that “the last week or so has been spent attacking your credibility, with major attacks here in the United States, some of them emanating from right here …”

Hunter added that it is “an outrage that we spent the last week prepping the ground, bashing the credibility of a general officer whose trademark is integrity, who was unanimously supported by the U.S. Senate for his position.”

Skelton forcefully responded, saying “that the capability, the integrity, the intelligence, and the wisdom of our two witnesses requires nothing but admiration from me and those of us about to receive their testimony.”