Its significance was on display at yesterday's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. From today's New York Times:
But no sooner had Mr. Levin outlined his case for a phased pullout of troops beginning in four to six months than the new Independent Democratic hero of the hawkish wing, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, began acting the role of cross-examiner, leading Gen. John P. Abizaid, the top American military commander in the Middle East, to say that such a withdrawal would increase violence and instability. ''I take it by your answer that you profoundly disagree?'' Mr. Lieberman asked. With the Democrats, he meant. ''We have a window of opportunity and, really, responsibility now, after the election,'' he said, ''to find a bipartisan consensus for being supportive of the efforts of our troops and our diplomats there to achieve success.'' To this, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the leading Democratic contender for the 2008 race, knocked back the remains in her coffee cup.