McHenry convinced Iraqis are committed On trip to Iraq, he sees civilians, military working together Rep. Patrick McHenry said he had doubts about whether Iraqis were really committed to retaking the reins of their country until he visited there for the first time this weekend.
"It showed to me that Iraqis have an interest in pulling themselves up," the Cherryville Republican said in a telephone interview Saturday from Baghdad.
McHenry said he saw buildings in tatters -- "shot up, mortared and shelled" -- but "people were just working around it."
He said he was encouraged that civilians were working with the military to assure safety in their communities.
McHenry said he and a small group of other lawmakers went to Baquba and Baghdad and met with Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, for nearly two hours.
"He was very candid about the challenges we have," McHenry said. "He didn't sugarcoat anything. But he laid out the strategy."
While troop levels are "based on conditions," the U.S. strategy still involves drawing down the number of military personnel in the field in the future, the lawmaker said.
McHenry is expected to return today.
Hagan tweaks Dole on Web site
A pair of ruby slippers is on the home page of Kay Hagan's new U.S. Senate campaign Web site, www.kayhagan.com.It's a not-so-subtle suggestion that incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., isn't home and is out of touch with North Carolina.
Computer users are sent to a Web site called www.whereisliddy.com if they click on the ruby slippers three times. (Just kidding: clicking once is plenty.)
Dole recently released a 31-page list of accomplishments from her five-plus years in the Senate, ranging from work on a tobacco quota buyout to help for sheriffs who want to begin immigration proceedings against illegal aliens who have committed crimes.
Her list can be found in the biography section of her official Senate site, http://dole.senate.gov.
The freshman senator is up for re-election this year, and will face off against the winner of the Democratic primary. Hagan, a state senator from Greensboro, is running against Chapel Hill investment adviser Jim Neal.
Hagan and Neal are expected to debate each other Friday in New Bern.
Edwards urges Democrats to give now
Give now, and the money will be tripled.
No, it isn't a pledge pitch from National Public Radio.
It is a plea from former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., to help elect more Democrats to the U.S. Senate. He's asking that supporters give to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee by March 31, the quarterly deadline for reporting fund-raising figures to the Federal Election Commission.
Edwards says the government needs to deal with health insurance, global warming and the economy, and that "simply will not happen without expanding the Democrats' 51-seat Senate majority."
Edwards told supporters if they give today, their contribution will be matched by a group of Democratic senators, "effectively tripling your contribution."
While Edwards' mug jumped out at supporters on the DSCC site last week, its GOP counterpart also had a Democrat on its homepage to help drive home the point of why it needs money.
"If you can't afford health insurance -- Hillary Clinton will garnish your wages to pay for it," the National Republican Senatorial Committee wrote. "Our best hope of slamming this door shut on HillaryCare is capturing a Republican Senate -- a Republican Senate that will not entertain another government mandated payroll deduction."
Leno teases affable Edwards
Edwards told talk show host Jay Leno last week that since dropping out of the presidential race he's been spending time with his kids, who are being home-schooled this year, and clearing brush and small trees with his tractor.Edwards had a couple of good laughs on the Tonight Show.
"Your choice to run as a middle-aged white man, do you think that was a good idea?" Leno asked. "I mean, when you consciously made that decision, do you think that was a good tactic?"
When Edwards stopped laughing, he joked, "I tried very hard to figure out what to do about that. I could not figure out what to do."
Edwards didn't tip his hand about endorsing either Clinton or Obama, saying they both have great strengths.
"But I think the strengths are different," he said. "(Obama) is inspirational, he gets people excited, he brings young people out who otherwise may not be involved in the process. Sen. Clinton has a toughness and a tenacity and experience ... and that has value."
As for his own future, Edwards said he'd like to continue public service but he's not sure if that will be in a government job.
Obama was here, superdelegates weren't
So where were those pesky Democratic superdelegates who represent the areas that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., visited when he was in North Carolina last week?
On the other ends of their districts.
They both set their schedules before Obama announced his trip.
Rep. Mel Watt of Charlotte was scheduled to be in Greensboro when Obama, a leading Democratic presidential contender, was participating in a town hall in Watt's home city.
Watt was meeting with the U.S. Census Bureau and military service academy applicants.
When Obama was in Fayetteville giving his speech about the five-year anniversary of the war, Rep. Mike McIntyre was on a three-day, seven-county tour that had him at the southern edge of his district.
"We have to do our schedule way in advance," said McIntyre, who lives in Lumberton but was in Brunswick and New Hanover counties that day. "I have all these commitments."
Lisa
Zagaroli
