The Vent Pipe: That's the one I voted for

* Update

Though, as I said before, I was not overly impressed with his speech Wednesday night, President Bush has since gone on the offensive, defending and justifying his adjustments to the Iraq policy, and reminding me of why I supported him after 9/11 and why I voted for him in 2004.

From Ask.com news via Instapundit:

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney say they will not budge from

sending more U.S. troops to Iraq no matter how much Congress opposes it.

"I fully understand they could try to stop me," Bush said of the Democrat-run Congress. "But I've made my decision, and we're going forward."

[...]

"We need to look at what options we have available to constrain the president," said Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, a possible White House candidate in 2008. Democrats remain wary, though, of appearing unsupportive of American troops.

A defiant Cheney, meanwhile, said Democrats offered criticism without credible alternatives. He pointedly reminded lawmakers that Bush is commander in chief.

"You cannot run a war by committee," the vice president said of congressional input.

The aggressive White House reaction came as the House and Senate prepare to vote on resolutions opposing additional U.S. troops in Iraq.
[...]

Democrats in Congress - along with some Republicans - were unimpressed and frustrated. Beyond promising to go on record in opposition to the president's approach, the Democratic leadership is considering whether, and how, to cut off funding for additional troops.

"You don't like to micromanage the Defense Department, but we have to, in

this case, because they're not paying attention to the public," said Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat who helps oversee military funding

Last night on the the FoxNews Channel, Sean Hannity reported that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) issued a statement saying that it is not his, nor any other congressperson's, responsibility to shape policy; that repsonsibility lies solely with the Presidency. reid did not elaborate on what the role of congress was to by. But judging from past experience and current rhetoric, I would like to propose that congress has written it's own job description for shaping policy and it reads as follows:

Congress shall bitch and complain about every plan President Bush offers. If he leaves Donald Rumsfeld and the orginial cast of characters in place, we will accuse him of listening to his friends. Since he has removed Rummy et. al. we shall explain to the American people that Bush replaces those who disagree with him until he finds a group of people to echo his policy. "Stay the course" is not acceptable. Changing the course is also a bad idea. It shall be congress's role to be happy about nothing and never to approve of anything Bush does. Let it also be known that we will never provide any alternative plans. Period.

That may not be in writting anywhere in the Capitol, but it seems to be something understood by nearly all Democrats and some Republicans--specifically Chuck Hagel.

Despite this credo by which Bush's opposition strive to live by, Bush Co. are staying strong. In an interview with Chris Wallace on Sunday Morning, VP Cheney said that he believed there was "nothing [the Democrats] can do" to alter the new Iraq plan. And that seems to be true. DO not believe for a moment that Pelosi nor Reid will be brave enough to cut funding to our Armed Forces. They may want this war to end, but they want their careers to continue. And so they usually anti-Bush, miserable defeatist rhetoric will continue to stream out of the Congress, but along side it will stream the money needed to continue the war. That's just how it's going to be

*Update

Pelosi issued a warning to President Bush, telling him not to "abuse" his power:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, returning to her hometown of San Francisco,
strongly warned today that President Bush "should not abuse his power" with
regard to troop escalation in the Iraq war and said it is the duty of
Congress to "exercise oversight over his power.''
"If the president doesn't have a plan, Democrats will hold him
accountable," Pelosi said in her first public appearance outside Washington
since her election as speaker Jan. 4.

If he doesn't have a plan? Where was she on Wednesday when he addressed the American people and outlined his plan? Still, it gets better:

"We have a plan, and he knows it," Pelosi said today as she was mobbed
by well-wishers following her keynote address at the 22nd annual holiday
breakfast.

If, as Pelosi suggests, Bush knows the Democrats plan, I sure wish he'd tell us. Better yet, maybe he should tell them and they could then tell us?