December 31, 2006 ... Nevermind

Presidential wannabe and Wisconsin "What have you done for Wisconsinites lately?" senator Russ Feingold has backed off of his ballyhooed December 31, 2006 deadline for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Washington -- Sen. Russ Feingold, an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq who long has sought to have U.S. troops out by the end of the year, on Monday endorsed a new deadline: July 1, 2007.

Feingold joined hands with other liberals, including Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president in 2004, in proposing the new deadline.

They plan today to introduce an amendment, which sets the stage for a long, heated debate in the Senate this week.

...Feingold and Kerry, both of whom are considering a presidential run in 2008, issued a joint statement to announce the new deadline.

"For three years, Congress has played political games while the war in Iraq has gone on unchecked and unending," they said. "With the administration's failure to offer a coherent or effective strategy in Iraq, it is long past time for Congress to offer a plan to redeploy our troops so we can give Iraq its best chance at stability, and refocus on al-Qaida and the terrorist networks that threaten the security of all Americans. We must redeploy to succeed - and we will put this national security imperative to a test in the United States Senate this week."

Do you think that Feingold determined that his end of the year deadline was not feasible and he needed to distance himself from it?

What I find especially interesting about Feingold chucking December 31, 2006 as the magic day is his alliance with Kerry and their joint statement.

Considering that Feingold and Kerry are opponents for the 2008 Dem presidential nomination, I think it's strange that they've made such a high profile alliance.

Both senators are appealing to the far Left for campaign contributions. Both are trying to "out-lib" each other.

Perhaps Feingold and Kerry have joined forces temporarily to throw a wrench in Hillary Clinton's supposed cakewalk to the Dem nomination. As allies, maybe they believe that they have a better chance of getting rid of her, a necessary step in their presidential pipe dreams.

As Abraham Lincoln said, "A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have."

What I want to know:

Will the press question Feingold about his abandonment of his December 31, 2006 withdrawal deadline?

Will anyone in the lib media, so quick to embrace his first date, point out Feingold's willingness to push back his arbitrary "bring 'em home" date?

Will the media highlight how ridiculous it is to pull such deadlines out of the air?

Will they ask Feingold about his motives?
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And here is today's "joint e-mail" from bedfellows Feingold and Kerry:

Dear Mary,

We need you to stand with us -- and we need you to do it now.

In the next 24 to 48 hours, we will go to the Senate floor to press for passage of the Kerry-Feingold Amendment calling for the redeployment of U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by a deadline certain. Our country desperately needs a new vision for strengthening our national security, and it starts by redeploying U.S. forces out of Iraq so we can wage and win a more effective war on terror and give Iraqis the best chance to stand up for a stable Iraq.

Tell your Senators: support the Kerry-Feingold Amendment on Iraq

Our troops have served valiantly in Iraq. Under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, they've done their job. Now, it's time to put the future of Iraq where it belongs: in the hands of the Iraqi people and their leaders. And it's time to listen to General George Casey and acknowledge that the indefinite presence of large numbers of U.S. combat forces in Iraq will weaken chances of defeating the insurgency and weaken our ability to fight the global terrorist networks that threaten us today.

In recent days, we've seen Republican leaders in the House and Senate shamelessly reject the opportunity for a genuine, meaningful debate on Iraq. They've resorted to a Karl Rove strategy of blindly endorsing President Bush's failed "stay the course" policy in Iraq and challenging the courage and patriotism of anyone who dares to point out the disastrous consequences of their failed approach.

It's time for every Senator to reject the lack of wisdom in their Iraq policies and the lack of decency in their Iraq politics.

Tell your Senators: support the Kerry-Feingold Amendment on Iraq

Tell your Senators: support the Kerry-Feingold Amendment on Iraq

We have to reject calls for an unquestioning, open-ended endorsement of George W. Bush's endless commitment of U.S. troops in Iraq. And we have to reject the "play it safe" conventional wisdom, inside D.C. punditry that would have Democrats stand on the sidelines without doing everything in our power to change policies that we know are deeply flawed and dangerous.

We urge you to tell your Senators that it's time for a new direction. Ask them to endorse the Kerry-Feingold amendment calling for the redeployment of combat troops out of Iraq by a hard and fast deadline. Tell them to act for one simple reason: it's the right thing to do -- for Iraq, and for the United States.

Tell your Senators: support the Kerry-Feingold Amendment on Iraq

Act now to add your voice to tens of thousands of others from around the country who are actively supporting the Kerry-Feingold amendment. We'll see to it that your letter gets delivered to the Senate.

This is a critical vote on the most crucial issue facing our country. It's time for every member of the Senate to send an important message that we must change course. And it's time for you to demand leadership from those you have sent to Washington to represent your views.

We urge you to act immediately -- and we thank you for standing with us on this critical issue.

Sincerely,

Russ Feingold and John Kerry