Lugar resists pressure on Iraq

It has often been said that politics makes strange bedfellows. In few states is there a finer example of this statement than in Indiana. It would be expected that President Bush, a Republican, would find some of his staunchest supporters for a war with Iraq from Indiana Republicans (traditionally a very conservative group) and that he would find opposition to war from the state's Democrats. \nBut, curiously, it's Indiana's Republican Senator who has urged extreme caution before acting militarily against Iraq. At the same time, leading Indiana Democrats have come out in favor of giving the President carte blanche on the issue of Iraq.\nThis Republican, Senator Richard Lugar, is among the most respected members of the Senate, especially when it comes to foreign policy. Though he is a Republican, Lugar has taken up arms with the more liberal head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joseph Biden (D-Del.), in proposing an alternative to the President's resolution authorizing force in Iraq.\nThis alternative attempts to provide Bush the narrow authority he needs to disarm Iraq while making sure he remains accountable to Congress. In response to questions about the Biden-Lugar resolution, Bush said, "I don't want to get a resolution which ties my hands." \nThe merits of the Biden-Lugar resolution aside, why would a prominent republican resist a republican president's foreign policy goals when the President enjoys sky-high approval ratings? The answer is simple and refreshing. Lugar, unlike many other politicians, has decided to ignore political pressure and pursue a course of action that he thinks is best for Americans and their interests.\nOn the other side of political opinion are those who support a very open-ended resolution of force regarding Iraq. This is where Republicans would be expected to stand. Indeed, most Republicans do support a broad mandate for the President, but some Hoosier Democrats are proving just how hard it is to resist public opinion and oppose him.\nThe most prominent supporter of Bush is Democratic Senator Evan Bayh. While Lugar was crafting his alternative resolution, Bayh was attending an exclusive meeting in the White House with advocates of the President's proposed Iraq resolution. The Indianapolis Star reported that, according to a Bayh spokesman, the meeting was to reach out to "those who had been supportive of the President." (Read: It was a strategy session for getting a broad resolution of force passed through Congress.)\nWhy, though, would Bayh be in disagreement with Lugar, one of the most respected foreign policy experts in this country? Taking a pessimistic point of view (and possibly, a completely wrong point of view -- as no one can get inside Sen. Bayh's head), I would say the proof is in the opinion polls. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll put Bush's approval rating at 67 percent nationally. And, "nationally" is the word that may be the most important for Bayh, a man who is rumored to have aspirations beyond the Senate.\nThe unfortunate fact is that many Democrats are afraid to challenge Bush on Iraq. Some, of course, have publicly criticized him, and others like Lugar and Biden have constructed an alternative resolution to be debated. Hopefully members of Congress will consider all the alternatives and ignore the opinion polls for once. If, and only if, all options are fully considered and debated do we stand the greatest chance of getting the best resolution for dealing with Iraq.