Yesterday I was privileged to be invited to attend the taping of the discussion between Connecticut’s U.S. Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman about the war in Iraq. The discussion was taped for Fox 61 WTIC-TV WB 20's "Beyond the Headlines” and was a joint effort with The Hartford Courant and The Hartford Courant's NE Magazine.
The discussion was billed as a forum on the lack of weapons of mass destruction, Iraqi elections, Saddam Hussein's trial, the outlook for the future and an opportunity to hear the Senators discuss their "drastically different" positions on American involvement in the war in Iraq.
Despite the efforts of the facilitators, Fox 61's political reporter, Shelly Sindland and Hartford Courant Washington Bureau Chief David Lightman, the discussion immediately turned into a lovefest. There was simply no way Senator Dodd was going to let anything he might of said about the war be used to undercut Senator Lieberman, especially with millionaire businessman Ned Lamont about to announce that he will mount a primary challenge against Lieberman.
Shelly Sindland started the discussion by reminding Lieberman that last fall he said U.S. lawmakers "had access to pretty much whatever [intelligence] we asked for" when they considered Iraq policy before the war. Dodd at the time termed such assertions "baloney."
As the Courant's David Lightman wrote, the Senators refused to be drawn into an actual debate an laughed off the apparent disagreement:
"Let's go for lunch today, Joe," Dodd said.
"We're going to have some baloney," quipped Lieberman.
Lieberman did not duck his support of the war, noting that even constituents who disagree with him about the war should respect that his position is based upon what he thinks is right.
The Senators said that rather than focus on what differences they may have had about the war, it was more important to focus on the future and ensure that we complete the mission.
Both Dodd and Lieberman were hopeful that the number of U.S. troops in Iraq could be decreased "significantly" by the end of the year. Both Senators were adamant that the military should determine when troops come home, not artificial deadlines.
I was surprised by the agreement on those points. I thought Dodd would be supportive of the Democrats' so-called strategic redeployment. During a discussion with the observers after the filming, Dodd was clearly not in favor of this latest withdrawal proposal. Dodd proved to be much more supportive of the war than I previously believed.
What was less surprising was Dodd's refusal to allow anything he has said to be used to undercut Lieberman. There really have been differences between Senators Dodd and Lieberman over Iraq. NE Editor, Jenifer Frank, detailed some of the differences writing that sometimes the two Senators disagreed only by degrees and at other times the differences have been more dramatic. The Democratic power brokers do not want to lose Lieberman over a single issue.
The Senators' discussion about the war will be broadcast on Sunday, along with comments from the five observers. The Courant is to be commended for developing this innovative approach of bringing readers in to observe and comment on a talking head show.
I want to sincerely thank the Hartford Courant which made it possible for me, and four others, to meet with both of our Senators. I encourage the Courant to continue pursue this interesting interactive format.
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