PLAYING CHICKEN? Says Barack Obama: A supplemental bill without withdrawal language will pass after the president vetoes the current one, because "I think that nobody wants to play chicken with our troops on the ground." Matt Stoller and Chris Bowers make most of the relevant criticisms (particularly Obama's recourse to meta observation). As a showdown emerges between the president and Congress, it's perhaps especially unhelpful to one's own bargaining position to be voicing awesome sound bites on behalf of the administration. Harry Reid, meanwhile, threatens to raise the stakes by joining with Russ Feingold to sponsor a bill with binding withdrawal language if the president vetoes the supplemental.
--Sam Rosenfeld
