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Look who's leading the debate in Congress now on an Iraq plan? Yes, this is about a GOP plan -- that's trying to get out ahead of a Dem plan:
How much has changed. The administration doesn't have a chokehold any more on the system -- and what they're clutching to is pretty tenuous. Blair is talking about a pullout too. Meantime, Chalabi met with the ancien regime, Cheney and Rumsfeld today.... Democrats said the plan represented a shift in Republican sentiment on Iraq and was an acknowledgment of growing public unrest with the course of the war and the administration's frequent call for patience. "I think it signals the fact that the American people are demanding change, and the Republicans see that that's something that they have to follow," said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader.
Mr. Frist said an important reason for the Republican proposal was to offer an alternative to the Democratic call for a withdrawal timetable. "The real objective was to get out of this timeline of cutting and running that the Democrats have in their amendment," he said.
Mr. Warner said he decided to take the Democratic proposal and edit it to his satisfaction in an effort to find common ground between the parties on the issue. ...