DC Notebook | Colorful language earns McDermott an admonishment

The Iraq war dominated D.C. last week.

Seattle's vehemently anti-war Democrat, Rep. Jim McDermott, is known for delivering incendiary speeches on the matter. On Thursday, he served up another, called "The President's Kick Ass War Assessment."

McDermott used that title because, while visiting Australia, President Bush told one of their leaders "we're kicking ass" in Iraq, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

McDermott called it "the kind of assessment you'd hear at a football game," and cited the continuing deaths of U.S. troops, including 10 last week. McDermott made the comments to refute Bush's more positive view of the war.

"The best military in the world is being run into the ground by the president," McDermott said, adding that the troops should come home now.

He repeated "kick ass" a couple more times.

It was inevitable that video of McDermott's speech would land on YouTube and bounce off Fox News. It sparked a pile of press calls for interviews.

However, McDermott pushed the envelope with the House rules of decorum. He was formally admonished afterward by the speaker for saying "kick ass," which is considered profanity.

Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, hopped a plane late Thursday to Baghdad. He wanted to see the situation there before the military's report on the results of the U.S. troop escalation is delivered to Congress today.

Reichert's visit was kept secret for security reasons. Like McDermott, Reichert may find himself in demand for quotes — by the media or his party — when he returns.

The anticipated Iraq review by Gen. David Petraeus will be the third major analysis of the Iraq War given to Congress in a week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told the press, "It's report heaven here."

In the Senate, two key bills hang in limbo: the energy bill and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Different versions of both have passed the House and Senate, and await a joint conference to hammer out the final changes.

No conferees have been named, but a prime candidate for either panel is Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat.

She was a player in this year's energy-bill negotiations behind the scenes and in the Commerce Committee. Her provisions raising penalties for "gas price gouging" are in the Senate bill. Her other focus is getting the House version to reduce carbon emissions from automobiles.

Cantwell also has been pushing for several years to change a funding formula so Washington state can get more federal money from SCHIP, which helps provide health-care for needy children.

The Senate and House versions both include help for the state. The president has threatened to veto the bill because of costs.

Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, and Cantwell celebrated the Landmark College Cost Reduction Act, which passed the Senate and House overwhelmingly Friday.

Billed as the biggest investment in college education since the G.I. bill of 1944, it cuts student-loan interest rates in half from 6.8 to 3.4 percent.

The bill also increases Pell Grants, an issue close to Cantwell's heart, as she attended college in Ohio on a Pell Grant.

Alicia Mundy: 202-662-7457 or amundy@seattletimes.com