The Potential ’08ers on the ISG Report

ABC’s Tahman Bradley Reports: By all signs, Iraq will still be a dominate force in American politics as 2008 nears and the battle for the White House heats up. 

Here is a sampling of reaction from the people thinking about running to succeed President George W. Bush.

Republicans:

Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), perhaps the GOP’s most vocal critic of the Bush Administration handling of the Iraq war said he sees the report as an acknowledgment that Iraq will not be solved by a military solution. 

"The President and Congress now must work together to frame a new policy that will allow the U.S. to leave Iraq and the Iraqi people to make their own decisions as to their future," he said. 

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) applauded the the work of the Iraq Study Group but expressed concern with some of its recommendations and renewed his call for more U.S. troops.

"Only by cracking down on independent militias, reducing criminal and terrorist activity, and protecting the population and key infrastructure–none of which can be accomplished without more troops–can a political settlement begin to take hold."

Democrats:

Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) highlighted the fact that report shows problems with the U.S. policy in Iraq and asserts that President Bush must change course.   

"..this report now raises the most important questions: is the President willing to change his mind?" 

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), the presumed frontrunner for the Democratic nomination said she hoped the White House would take the commission’s recommendations into full account.

"The American people have spoken. The Iraq Study Group has spoken. Experts across the political spectrum have spoken. Even the President’s nominee for Defense Secretary has spoken. Now it’s time for the President to listen and change the course in Iraq."

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) said he couldn’t "agree more with the group’s conclusions that there is no magic formula for fixing the problems in Iraq," and added that he hoped President Bush would give serious consideration to the group’s 79 recommendations. 

Senator John Kerry (D-MA), who has in the past mapped his own plan for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, said the report can provide "core elements" to reaching a solution in Iraq, but added that he wished the commission had pushed for a stronger timeline for withdrawal.   

"I wish the report went further by making this a hard deadline for redeploying our combat troops. Iraqi political leaders have proven time and again that they only respond to hard deadlines, and I believe that a deadline is the most effective way to expedite the process and save lives."

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) was optimistic about report and a possible change in direction in Iraq. 

He said the report "offers a unique chance to forge a bipartisan consensus about how to move forward in Iraq."   

Calling the recommendation "clear-eyed and constructive and an important blueprint for American foreign policy in Iraq and across the Middle East," New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson said, "I hope that President Bush will heed the wise words of this expert group."

Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, who official entered the 2008 presidential race last week, described the Iraq Study Group report as "good, serious work," but said that it was not a strategy. 

"The President’s reaction will send a loud and clear message on whether he’s listening to the American people’s call for a change in policy for Iraq."