After the smashing success of their Syrian jaunt, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Tom Lantos are considering another trip–“to open a dialogue with Iran,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports:
“Speaking just for myself, I would be ready to get on a plane tomorrow morning, because however objectionable, unfair and inaccurate many of (Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s) statements are, it is important that we have a dialogue with him,” Lantos said. “Speaking for myself, I’m ready to go–and knowing the speaker, I think that she might be.”
Still, the Democrats have their limits. The Chronicle reports that there is one world leader with whom congressional Democrats are unwilling to hold an unconditional dialogue:

President Bush, raising the political stakes in his fight with Congress over the war in Iraq, made Democratic leaders an offer they could and did refuse–come to the White House to accept his demand for continued, unfettered funding of the war.
“We can discuss the way forward on a bill that is a clean bill: a bill that funds our troops without artificial timetables for withdrawal, and without handcuffing our generals on the ground,” the president said of the fight over the emergency war spending legislation.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking Tuesday at a news conference in San Francisco, forcefully rejected Bush’s invitation–as had Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada several hours earlier at a Capitol appearance.

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