Obama capitulates to Bush

Obama says Congress will fund Iraq War

If President Bush vetoes an Iraq war spending bill as promised, Congress quickly will provide the money without the withdrawal timeline the White House objects to because no lawmaker "wants to play chicken with our troops," Sen. Barack Obama said Sunday.

This is a battle of wills now and Obama has stated that the Democrats haven't got the will to stand up to president Bush on the Iraq war. Bush can now veto the bill, knowing he'll get his way, without even the concern that the public will blame him if the Democrats refuse to pass a bill without deadlines. Obama has created a no-lose proposition for George Bush.

"My expectation is that we will continue to try to ratchet up the pressure on the president to change course," the Democratic presidential candidate said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I don't think that we will see a majority of the Senate vote to cut off funding at this stage."

There is no pressure on the president if the Senate is unwilling to hold fast. He doesn't care what the Democrats think so long as they're willing to send him his money. He's already characterized the timelines as a political stunt, and Barack has now confirmed that publicly. Bush will actually look stronger having faced down the Democrats on this first serious battle of the new Congress.

Barack needs to take some time to learn how high stakes poker is played. He's just folded with a strong hand.

h/t MyDD