Was it really only four months ago that an emergent Democratic majority in Congress prepared to march boldly into the future and deal decisively with all of those vexing problems facing the republic, most especially the Mess in Mesopotamia?
It seems more like four years ago considering that, as The New York Times notes:
The Democratic-controlled Congress on Tuesday entered a critical five-week struggle over the financing of the war in Iraq and the overall mission there, divided over strategy, stymied by ideological divisions, but still hoping to escalate pressure on the White House to change the course of the war.
In the Senate, a proposal to repeal the 2002 Congressional war authorization faced skepticism on two fronts. Some liberal Democrats expressed unease at the prospect of approving a new military mission, even a narrower one, while moderate Republicans said they preferred to look ahead rather than revisit the past.
In the House, Democrats debated what conditions should be attached to the nearly $100 billion spending bill for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, scheduled for a floor vote in March. Democratic leaders convened a spirited meeting of their caucus to begin sorting out the lawmakers’ varying views, hoping to defend against Republican charges that they were planning a cutoff in troop financing.
Things sure looked easier to the Dems when they were on the outside looking in, eh?
More here.