James M. Talent: “It leads me to wonder, Mr. Speaker. I think there would be very strong support on both sides of the aisle for any…”

“It leads me to wonder, Mr. Speaker. I think there would be very strong support on both sides of the aisle for any plausible plan to respond on an ongoing and consistent basis to the depredations by Saddam Hussein. I know I would be very receptive to that. I repeat, I have been defending the President. I wondered at the time when this was occurring why the press was so interested in my comments back home. I think it was because, here I was a Republican defending what the President was doing, but I thought his response was very appropriate. If we are having difficulty getting the Saudis to go along, we know we have had difficulty getting the Europeans to go along, all the more important that we be consulted here, and that we be able to act in a united way between the executive and legislative branches. I am not saying this, inviting the President to come in, so we can step on what he is trying to do. I think probably we would be supportive if it was a reasonable plan. But if he does not do that then certainly he exposes himself to the criticisms.”