Hotline After Dark -- Iraq, Iraq, Iraq

Most of the TV talk last night focused on Pres. Bush's plan for more troops in Iraq and how the new Congress will react to it:

CNN's Bash: "Bipartisanship definitely is the buzz word. CNN has learned that the White House even sent a plane to get Senate Democratic leaders who were at Gerald Ford's funeral in Michigan to bring them back in order to be at a reception at the White House with the president today. But despite all of that, there are already early signs of partisan strain" ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," 1/3).

Incoming House Maj. Leader Steny Hoyer, on Bush's plan for more troops: "We need to find out specifically what he wants to do with though troops. Almost every policy that they've pursued has not work. I'm very skeptical, personally of this so called surge as to whether or not it will accomplish the objectives and I'm not sure what the specific objectives are. So of course we're going to have to have that fleshed out a little bit" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 1/3).

Newsweek's Fineman: "Let the Democrats, after whomever succeeds him after 2009, be the ones to really do the massive pullout in Iraq. George W. Bush is not going to do it, and the surge is a way for him to buy time to finish the policy as he sees it through" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 1/3).

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA): "When the Republican administration of George Bush tells me not to use legislation to make political statements, it's kind of like being accused of being silly by the Three Stooges. This is a group that took this constitutional amendment to ban marriage that they knew couldn't win and voted on it twice" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 1/3).

WHEN THE PAST IS PROLOGUE

"O'Reilly Factor" and "Hannity & Colmes" talked about a possible Barack Obama WH run and both shows mentioned Obama's cocaine use as described in his memoir.

Bob Novak: "I'm telling you that, when the American people find a presidential candidate who has used cocaine, this is not a good thing. It is a burden to carry" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 1/3).

Chicago Tribune's Page: "I think it's to his advantage that it's been talked about now, early on. He was a kid, remember? And this same question came up in President Bush's 2000 campaign, and he just refused to talk about it" ("O'Reilly Factor," FNC, 1/3). [EMILY GOODIN]