Once an Aberration, Twice a Trend? Today Again Questions Dems' Lack of Iraq Plan

ESPN loves to run the clip of NFL coaching legend Vince Lombardi stomping down the sideline, demanding to know "what the hell is going on around here?"

Watching the Today show the last two mornings, one is tempted to ask the same question.

As reported here, Matt Lauer yesterday criticized the Democrats for their lack of a plan for Iraq. This morning, Matt & Co. were, mirabile dictu, back at it again.

Lauer introduced the segment in this surprisingly W-friendly way: "President Bush has taken a beating on Capitol Hill from Democrats unhappy with the way the war is going, but do the president's critics have an exit strategy of their own?"

Norah O'Donnell, who's never been accused of pro-Republican bias, narrated the segment entitled "Do Democrats Have Plan for Iraq?"

She aired a clip of John Kerry, looking increasingly like a Saturday Night Live parody of himself, ponderously proclaiming: "We need to reduce the American presence. The president does not have a plan to do that."

Norah then asked the obvious question: "But where is the Democrats' plan? They've yet to agree on an exit strategy."

O'Donnell then brought in the suave John Dickerson of left-leaning Slate.com, who answered Norah's question in a manner that largely let the Dems off the hook: "the Democratic party doesn't have a good plan for how to get out of Iraq because there is no good plan to get out of Iraq."

As the segment ground to an inconclusive halt, Norah went on to cite Murtha, Hillary, Biden and Kerry to various effect regarding troop withdrawal. But while it was anything but a tough indictment of Democrat hypocrisy, the very fact that the issue of the Dems' lack of an Iraq plan had been put on the table at all was noteworthy.

Sea change at Today? Not likely. Refreshing blip, fleeting as a subliminal 'X'? Perhaps. To be continued . . .