The democrats really did a number on themselves yesterday. They presented the perfect example of what WE DON”T want our political leaders to be – arrogant bullies. Too many have said too well today for me to waste time trying to add my two cen…

Complicated question — I don’t have access to any of the classified intelligence that would go into answering questions like: How much damage could we do to Iran’s nuclear program with one round of air strikes? and How close is Iran really to a functioning atomic bomb?

My use of the word “responsible” wasn’t meant to indicate that any military action would be a responsible one, but that the absolutist tone of the senator’s comments seemed to rule out even a “responsible” — by which I basically mean “not disproportionate” and directly related to our interests (in either a free Iran, a non-nuclear Iran, or both) — military action. Covert insertion of special-ops teams to seize and demolish buried nuclear facilities, for example, or support for a military coup which promises free elections within a year and an immediate termination of Iran’s nuclear program, might be considered “responsible” depending on details none of us are privy to.

Mark-

In his questioning, Senator Biden reiterated the “invade Iran” idea several more times — then misspoke once and used “Iraq” after which he corrected himself by suggesting Syria or Iran. Alito started to lay out what is established law — such as the President’s authority to act in an emergency when there’s no time to consult with Congress — and Senator Biden chopped him off the very second he mentioned the War Powers Resolution…

It’s possible that there’s nothing to all of this, but it’s interesting fodder for speculation for those who are wondering what the administration is thinking on Iran at the moment.

All kidding aside, can’t you just see Ted Kennedy preening self-righteously while he demands to know what the nominee is implying about him? About the respect due to United States Senators? How such a personal attack on a senior Senator clearly demonstrates that the nominee lacks judicial deference?

Totally off topic, but I’m watching Katie Couric toss softballs at Joe Biden this morning and two things jump out — Biden announced he would vote against Judge Alito if the vote were taken now (no surprise — he voted against confirmation for Roberts) and more importantly, his phrasing of the question of unlimited executive power, that he wishes Judge Alito would answer, stated twice, was “Does the President have the authority to go to war with IRAN without Congressional authorization.”

Two intriguing points — (1) he said it twice, so he wasn’t misspeaking about Iraq, he’s talking about whether we’ll have military strikes against IRAN — is it possible that the Congressional leadership has been briefed on something?? I don’t recall ever hearing Iran mentioned hypothetically during the hearings, though I certainly haven’t heard every minute.

(2) Doesn’t the War Powers Act say exactly that — that the President can indeed order attacks on other countries on his own authority, requiring Congressional authorization only if the conflict extends beyond thirty days? That is, Congress’s most recent opinion (rejected by every President since, and never addressed by the Supreme Court) on where the War Powers line lies — where it was drawn by liberals in the immediate wake of Vietnam — is well on the Executive Powers side of where Senator Biden seems to be implying that he draws that line.

Is it possible that Democrats are getting ready to slam the President if he takes any responsible military action to stop Iran’s nuclear program? Is it possible that he’s quietly asked for Congressional authorization (to give weight to any ultimatum), and relatively senior legislators like Joe Biden have weighed in and told him that Democrats would vote against such an authorization?? Yes, I realize I’m reading quite alot into one comment, but it’s one of those that the staff carefully prepares and the Senator carefully memorizes and delivers more than once to be sure he’s heard, so there’s certainly some message he’s trying to send, even if it’s just “Bush is a Tyrant!”