Times on the Trail
POLITICAL POINTS | 4.8 3:32 PM
Even as Rice Testifies, Senators Weigh In on Sept. 11
By CARL HULSE
ven as Condeleezza Rice testified in a nearby Senate office building, senators themselves could not resist a pitched political battle on the Senate floor today over President Bush's handling of Sept. 11 and whether Democrats are out of line for their heightening criticism of the war in Iraq.
In a coordinated effort to rally around Mr. Rice, Republican senators lined up behind the administration, with Senator John Cornyn of Texas describing as "world-class second guessers" those who now accuse Mr. Bush of not recognizing the full threat posed by Al Qaeda before Sept. 11.
"We ought to be clear about this: The blame for what happened on 9/11 lies squarely with Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda — not on the American people, not on President Clinton and his administration, and not on the president or his administration," Mr. Cornyn said.
He was not the only Republican to cite Mr. Clinton. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is emerging as a regular defender of Bush terrorism policy, reminded those who call Iraq a distraction in the war on terror that the Clinton administration listed Iraq as a state sponsor of terrorism.
But Democrats continued their efforts to put new focus on Mr. Bush's record on terror in the days before Sept. 11. Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York said that Ms. Rice missed an opportunity to acknowledge missteps in the months before the attacks, saying that he feared that a government that could not recognize errors was destined to repeat them.
"We did not hear from Adviser Rice three important words — we made mistakes," Mr. Schumer said.
In the aftermath of the appearance by Ms. Rice, lawmakers began firing off statements expressing their views on how she did, with Republicans praising it as an "extremely strong" performance in the words of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. Democrats saw it another way, with Senator Bob Graham of Florida, the former chairman of the Intelligence Committee, saying she "did not resolve the many contradictions between various accounts of what actions the Bush administration took in response to the threat of terrorism prior to 9/11."
The rapid response by both sides to the nationally televised testimony is just another illustration of the importance both parties place on making their case about terror and war in Iraq, viewing it as a uniquely important point of contrast in this November's elections.
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