Sen. Warner wants a pullout and Obama makes headlines on Cuba

Getting a lot of play on the political news front is news that Republican Sen. John Warner, the influential former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has called on President Bush to start the process of bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq in September.

Warner opposed the "surge" policy, and so his credibility among those who were preordained to support the surge is minimal, but he is a Republican, and one who's been fairly consistent in his position on the war for a while now.

Warner said Thursday that the start of a pullout was needed to spur Iraqi leaders to action.

Elsewhere in the news...

Sen. Obama is creating headlines again. Scratch that -- the media and his opponents are creating headlines again. Obama's part in it was to write an op-ed in the Miami Herald. In it, he called for the lifting of two Bush administration restrictions on Cuban-Americans. Obama wrote that he would grant Cuban-Americans "unrestricted rights to visit family and send remittances to the island."

Why do I care? Remind me again why I'm supposed to be so utterly terrified of Cuba and Fidel Castro? Drop the rhetoric and the sanctions already, Uncle Sam! You have bigger fish to fry. Sheesh!

Of course, the rest of the wanna-be presidential crowd had more to say about it...

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was quick to pounce, saying in a statement "unilateral concessions to a dictatorial regime are counterproductive" and that Obama's position proves the Illinois senator "does not have the strength to confront America's enemies or defend our values." Hey, Mitt, why don't we add Cuba to the Axis of Evil? Come on, man, let's do it!

Current restrictions allow Cuban-Americans to send family members $300 a quarter and limit visits to up to 14 days once every three years. Yeah... that'll show those filthy communists!

Among the other Democratic candidates, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson already was on record in favor of changes along the lines outlined by Obama.

Former Sen. John Edwards split the difference; he favors unlimited travel by family members but opposes "raising the limits on sending American dollars back to Cuba at this time." Typical Edwards non-position.

Sen. Chris Dodd would do more; he favors allowing all Americans unrestricted travel to Cuba. Chris who?

Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton favors no changes to U.S. policy and said through a spokesman "we cannot talk about changes to U.S. policy" unless and until Castro passes from the scene and a new government demonstrates its intentions. Hillary, again showing us how experience to her means maintaining the status quo.

• August 24, 2007

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