Is it possible that the Dems are actually paying attention to the poll numbers that Glenn discusses today? Two developments suggest that they finally understand that they have the upper hand, if they simply will seize the opportunity.

First, it was announced yesterday that funding for the occupation could be delayed until November.

Democrats are poised to delay money for the Iraq war by several weeks, giving them time to calculate their next move and see if Republican support for President Bush's policies deteriorate.

In fact, Representative John Murtha realizes the anger that is out here over the lack of progress in stopping the war.

"There's a lot of anger out there," Murtha told reporters Monday at the National Press Club. "A lot of people are very unhappy with the Democrats because we haven't been able to get anything done."

Link: http://tinyurl.com/2hx47w

Next, Senators Leahy and Schumer intend to use the confirmation hearings for Mukasey as bait to extract subpoenaed documents from the White House:

But two Democrats who will have a powerful say over whether Mr. Mukasey gets confirmed — Senators Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont and Charles E. Schumer of New York — vowed on Monday to use the nomination to extract information from a reluctant White House.

“All I want is the material we need to ask some questions about the former attorney general’s conduct, on torture and warrantless wiretapping, so we can legitimately ask, ‘Here’s what was done in the past, what will you do?”’ Mr. Leahy, the Judiciary Committee chairman, said.

Link:http://tinyurl.com/2yx64h

Much as we would like immediate action on both ending the war and exposing the full extent of injustice at the Justice Department, these are concrete actions with the potential for significant successes.

Unspoken in the effort to delay the debate on further funding for Iraq is what I think is an underlying assumption that within a few more weeks, the violence level will rise again as the weather cools. It is vitally important that the GAO continue to update its violence documentation and provide up to date figures once the debate begins. By having the debate occur when data will be available after the "summer slowdown" seen every year in this debacle, Congress will have yet another powerful demonstration of the limitless wrongness of continuing according to Bush's plan.

Similarly, the Dems need to hold their noses and be willing to risk extension of the term of Acting AG Keisler in return for forcing the Bushies to hand over the documentataion of their illegal and immoral manipulation of the Justice Department. By then following up with the questions Leahy suggests, further concrete progress will be made.

All it will take is a spine, and maybe we are witnessing the regeneration of one.

Garry,

The photo on the front page of today's Gainesville Sun is from the opposite angle as the video here and is taken from behind the right shoulder of the cop aiming what does appear to be a pistol. It is metallic in color and the barrel section appears to be rectangular. To realize how much this looks like a gun, all you have to do is look at the student in the front row who appears to be leaning out of the direct line of fire. However, I believe that this is a taser being pointed at Meyer, because in the video you clearly see a bright light emanating from just below the "barrel" of the weapon. I think it may be similar to the taser at this link:http://www.safetygearhq.com/images/tasercop.jpg.

For obvious reasons, the www.gainesvillesun.com website is a bit overwhelmed right now, so I can't give you a link to the photo. It is credited to Jarrett Baker and is "Special to the Sun", which means the photographer is not an employee of the paper.

The student newspaper reports that Meyer was released from jail around 9 am, but has no video or pictures that relate to the gun question.

I'm still kicking myself for not going to this event...

This just went out to the University of Florida community:

To students, faculty, staff:

I have received a great deal of communication and input last night and this morning regarding the incident that occurred Monday at the conclusion of a town hall forum being held by Sen. John Kerry. The incident resulted in a student being tasered.

We are interested in learning what happened and are taking the following immediate steps to ensure the university utilizes best practice protocols:

University of Florida Police Chief Linda Stump has requested the Florida Department of Law Enforcement conduct a formal investigation into the arrest of UF student Andrew Meyer. An independent review such as this will make sure the results are objective and impartial. Chief Stump’s priority is to ensure that the public remains confident in the department’s ability to keep the campus safe.

Two officers involved in the incident have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

We plan to assemble a panel of faculty and students to review our police protocols, our management practices and the FDLE report to come up with a series of recommendations for the university.

Administrators and police officials plan to analyze the incident and conduct an internal review and will consider changing protocols in response to this incident, if necessary.

Finally, as is standard procedure, the State Attorney’s Office will review the charges brought against Mr. Meyer. We have communicated with the State Attorney and understand he plans to expedite his review.

I will talk about the incident and answer questions at a news conference scheduled for 2 p.m. in Emerson Alumni Hall.

Sincerely,

J. Bernard Machen