Metal Cots, Takeout Pizza and a Long Night of Recriminations

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Metal Cots, Takeout Pizza and a Long Night of Recriminations
By JEFF ZELENY and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: July 18, 2007

WASHINGTON, July 17 — As the sun fell over the Capitol on Tuesday, an overnight debate over the Iraq war was just beginning to rise inside the Senate chamber, where Democrats and Republicans hunkered down for a marathon session over President Bush’s Iraq policy.

The boxes of pizza had been delivered. The cots had been dusted off for weary lawmakers. And the sergeant-at-arms was standing by, ready to fetch any senator who did not arrive in the chamber when the buzzer sounded for a late-night quorum call.

It was the first round-the-clock Senate debate since 2003, when Republicans sought to break a Democratic filibuster over the appointment of federal judges. This time, it was the Democratic leaders challenging Republicans for threatening to filibuster legislation calling for troops to begin leaving Iraq in 120 days.

Republicans accused Democrats of staging a political show to dramatize opposition to the war. Democrats brushed aside such suggestions, hoping to draw support from a handful of Republicans who have begun to criticize the administration.

“This isn’t about theater, polls or politics,” said Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat. “It is about the will of the American people, about honoring the democratic principle, it’s about doing the job we were elected to do.”

As the debate continued, she added: “Some people say Democrats are micromanaging the war. Well, hey, someone’s got to manage it, and it’s about time.”...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/washington/18scene.html