Congress' September Song

Oh, it's a long, long time from May to December
And the days grow short when you reach September
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
One hasn't got time for the waiting game
Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few...

The chorus of Democrats and Republicans is growing larger and louder. “Congressional leaders from both political parties,” says today’s Washington Post “are giving President Bush a matter of months to prove that the Iraq war effort has turned a corner, with September looking increasingly like a decisive deadline.”

Labor Day will be celebrated here just as Muslims prepare for their holy month of Ramadan, which has seen increased violence in Iraq for each of the past four years.

Unofficially it will be the time Congressmen begin campaigning to hold on to their jobs.

On TV, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner concedes, "By the time we get to September, October, members are going to want to know how well this is working, and if it isn't, what's Plan B."

“The Republicans,” Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel agrees, “are hell-bent on not going through the next election with Iraq tied to their ankles. All Boehner said publicly was what Republicans have been saying privately for months."

It’s good to hear Washington politicians finally in tune, but meanwhile, as they rest up from their vocalizing, our troops in Iraq will have to face the music of a long, hot and bloody summer.