Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/senate-debates-iraq-while-presidential-contenders-shift-in-polls Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript The Senate passed an Iraq war funding bill with a timetable for troop withdrawal this week, while former Sen. Fred Thompson considers a presidential run. Analysts Mark Shields and Rich Lowry discuss these developments. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. JIM LEHRER: Finally tonight, the analysis of Shields and Lowry, syndicated columnist Mark Shields and National Review editor Rich Lowry. David Brooks is away tonight.Mark, did the president make a difference by going to Walter Reed today? MARK SHIELDS, Syndicated Columnist: I'm glad the president did go, Jim. I mean, it's not much of a trip from the White House. It's been a long time coming.But the administration, the government, America is still reeling from the statement by the arrogant and insensitive general, when confronted with the wounded warriors living in mold, with rodents running, saying, "I don't do barracks inspections."And that sort of became — Gen. Kiley became, for many Americans, the sense of indifference, and beyond indifference, as was explained in the segment with Judy, the bureaucratic nightmare that these troops are put through. JIM LEHRER: Do you have the feeling now, Rich, that the message has now been heard loud and clearly by those who can do something about this and will do something about it? RICH LOWRY, Editor, National Review: Yes, I think so. And, look, it's obviously good the president went there today. It's appropriate that he apologized.But the most important thing in this whole episode for me is that there wasn't much circling of the wagons right at the beginning. People were fired, and appropriately so, and that's a problem this administration has had with its management style all along.It's the delegating down to people and then not holding them accountable when there are bad consequences. And this seems to be an exception to that. JIM LEHRER: That was because of the new secretary of defense, Gates? RICH LOWRY: Yes, I think there's a different attitude there. And with Rumsfeld, who was so embattled, and they're so used to having every possible charge thrown at him, there was very little give there. And the tendency always was to push back against anything and everything, and Gates has been a fresh start in that regard.