Hotline After Dark -- Obsess Much?

The Iraq debate continues in the halls of Congress and on your TV screens:

CNN's Bash: "It's now clear the Senate will not vote on Iraq anytime soon, but the debate is as heated as ever. Not about the president's Iraq policy or plan, but about who should pay the political price for the Senate deadlock" ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," 2/7).

Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA): "We're doing everything that we can, and quite frankly, over the last couple of weeks, we worked pretty closely with a number of Republicans, as you know, to try to get language that would be acceptable to both parties."

More: "I don't think they want a vote and I think they know they will lose a vote. But, quite frankly, ending this war is more important than embarrassing a president" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 2/7).

THE PLANE, THE PLANE

Speaker Nancy Pelosi was on "On the Record" and discussed the airplane controversy:

Pelosi: "This is about transportation. It's not about a plane. Myself, I wish I didn't have to have so much security, because I like my freedom of mobility, but being, second in line of succession, and since 9/11, Mr. Hastert had that transportation provided. ... It's their call as to what security is needed for the speaker of the House, and they requested that. Where the misrepresentations and mischaracterizations came from, I don't know, perhaps the Defense Department, because I've been one of their critics. But I'll say this, I know it didn't come from the president of the United States. Because he has been, if anything, very definite in saying to me, you need to have the security you have."

FNC's Van Susteren: "It's about the size of the plane. I think that's what the dispute was."

Pelosi: "It was the distance."

Van Susteren: "You're from California, we can't do anything about that. ... And Speaker Hastert was Illinois, the mid-part of the country."

Pelosi: "That's right."

Asked if she asked for a particular sized plane, Pelosi: "No."

More Pelosi: "They told me the first day that I was supposed to go that I couldn't make it across the country. And I said well, that's fine, I'm going commercial. ... I'm not asking to go on that plane. If you need to take me there for security purposes, you're going to have to get a plane that goes across the country, because I'm going home to my family. ... I'm happy to go commercial. But they want me to go on this plane, so the issue was distance, not size. And again, it's not about having a plane. It's about having transportation. These planes are used for other purposes in between trips, which are, you know, take place once or twice a week, going or coming. So, it isn't about that. But there are probably those in the Department of Defense who are not happy with my criticism of Secretary Rumsfeld, the war in Iraq, other waste, fraud and abuse in the Defense Department and I guess this is their way of making their voices heard. But it has nothing to do, as I say, with the president of the United States. He has encouraged my having the security I need" (FNC, 2/7).

THE TRUTHINESS WILL SET YOU FREE

MSNBC's Matthews: "Scooter Libby complained 'what the hell is going on 'Hardball?' What was going on in 'Hardball' was the pursuit of the truth."

MSNBC's Shuster: "Tim Russert testified that during the course of this phone call, Libby said, 'what the hell is going on with 'Hardball?' I'm tired of hearing my name. What is going on? What is going on is not true. Russert then testified, and this is the key to the case against Scooter Libby, he testified that at no point during this conversation did he ever discuss Valerie Wilson" ("Hardball," 2/7).

FNC's Wilson: "For those who don't know, Tim Russert is in crutches because he tripped over his dog Buster" ("Special Report," 2/7).

Newsweek's Wolffe: "What you have here is an extraordinary picture of senior officials who came into this trial saying that they were overwhelmed with national security concerns, and, in fact, they're obsessing about Chris Matthews and Tim Russert and NBC" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 2/7). [EMILY GOODIN]