WASHINGTON, DC – President Bush visited Capitol Hill yesterday morning for a closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans. Asked by reporters whether Iraq had been discussed during the meeting, Senator Trent Lott (R-MI) responded: “No, none of that. You’re the only ones who obsess on that. We don’t and the real people out in the real world don’t for the most part,” according to CNN.

Representative George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee, said that Lott should explain himself. He issued the following statement today:

“Americans may have different views about the war in Iraq, but we all share a common gratitude for the bravery and sacrifices of our troops, and we all join their families every day in hoping and praying for their safe return.

“That is why the comments reportedly made yesterday by Senator Trent Lott were so repugnant. If he did make these comments, then he owes a profound apology to all American troops and their families. If he didn’t make these comments, then he should set the record straight.

“I am sure that the families of the 35 troops from Senator Lott’s home state of Mississippi who have died in Iraq – and all the families of the more than 2,700 American troops killed – would agree that there is no more important issue facing our country right now than this war. For real people in the real world, the war in Iraq is a real nightmare. But Senator Lott is more worried about Republicans’ political prospects than he is about the direction in which our country is heading.

“If it’s true that Iraq was not discussed in this meeting, then President Bush and Republican leaders in Congress also owe an explanation to the American people for why they don’t think that the war is a subject important enough to warrant discussion among them. Republicans leaders have done nothing but come up with partisan slogans to attack their political opponents, when what the country needs and our troops deserve is a real plan for changing course in Iraq. Maybe they should spend some time in their next meeting working on that.”

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