Daily Political Wire 7-3-2010

George Wenschhof

President Obama is spending the 4th of July weekend at Camp David - on Tuesday he will meet with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

This meeting has twice been postponed due to circumstances which erupted in Israel. The first visit was canceled after Israel announced, during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden, the approval of hundreds of building permits in the controversial West Bank. A policy contrary to what the U.S. and the Palestinians had been negotiating fo some time.

The second visit was canceled after Israeli commandos seized a humanitarian aid ship headed to the Gaza Strip.

In spite of these incidents, U.S. Middle East Envoy George Mitchell has continued to hold "proximity talks" between Israel and Palestine. Let's see if Netanyahu has any progress to announce in regard to these peace talks next week. Stay Tuned...

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Sunday morning "Talking Heads" Lineup - expect a lot of talk on Afghanistan with Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.), John Lindsey (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) appearing on different shows live from that country.

Sure to be brought up is the latest gaffe from RNC chair Michael Steele who was caught rambling about how the U.S. should not be involved in a ground war in Afghanistan; a position contrary to the majority of the Republican Party.

NBC "Meet The Press" - no program today - coverage of Wimbleton Tennis

ABC "This Week" - Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.)

CBS "Face The Nation" - Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

CNN "State of The Union" - Representatives John Boccieri (D-Ohio), Duncan Hunter (R-Calf.), and Mike Coffman (R-Col.). Also appearing will be Afghanistan Ambassador to the U.S. Said Tayeb Jawab.

Fox News Sunday - Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). Kenneth Feinberg - the independent administrator/arbiter of the BP 20 billion Escrow Fund.

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U.S. and Poland sign Missile Shield agreement - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was on hand in Krakow, Poland yesterday to witness the signing. The Obama administration scrapped the former Bush administration proposal for longer range defensive missiles in favor of shorter range missiles to defend against any possible attack from Iran. Russia has long opposed any deployment of U.S. missiles in Poland. MSNBC.com has more here.

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More calls for Steele's Resignation - the embattled chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Michael Steele, who barely won nomination as chair after six rounds of balloting less than a year ago has new efforts to oust him. Politico.com has more here.

Conservatives Bill Kristol; Weekly Standard Editor, David Foster of The National Review and Liz Cheney; chair of Keep America Safe all are calling for his resignation. This is coming after he was caught on a "hot mic" saying the U.S. should not be involved in a ground war in Afghanistan.

Republicans are in a tough spot as the mid term elections near. Their chair continues to help Democrats with his gaffes, however, how effective will a change be at this point.

In the meantime, look to see Democrats point out the inability of Republican leadership to make decisions; especially in regard to their own voice of their Party. Is this the kind of leadership you want to elect to Congress?

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