Senators pull an all-nighter for debate on Iraq war

WASHINGTON -- The cots were strategically placed near the Senate chamber. Plenty of coffee was ordered. And the sergeant-at-arms was instructed to be prepared to retrieve absent senators early this morning.

In a carefully choreographed event, the Senate staged a rare overnight debate devoted to the Iraq war. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the session in an attempt to spotlight Republican opposition to a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal.

The all-nighter underscored the limits the Democratic majority faces in pressing its agenda with a narrowly divided Congress and a Republican president armed with a veto pen full of ink. And it highlighted the increasing partisan tensions in the chamber over the more-than-four-year-old war.

"Will the all-night session change any votes?" Reid said Tuesday. "I hope so. Because it will focus attention on the obstructionism of the Republicans."

Republicans, however, dismissed the session as a silly political stunt. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called it "theater and bad theater at that."

But Republicans have resorted to similar theatrics, sponsoring a round-the-clock "talkathon" in 2003 when they were in the majority to highlight Democratic filibusters over President Bush's judicial nominees.

Unlike that time, when only a handful of senators were required to be on the floor at one time during the late-night and early-morning hours, Reid threatened to call votes that would require the sergeant-at-arms to round up missing senators. That evoked memories of when Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., was carried feet-first into the chamber by officers to answer a quorum call in 1988.

Reid called the session out of frustration over what he complained were GOP efforts to thwart the will of a majority of senators.

In a vote scheduled for today, Democrats are expected to pick up at least three Republicans for a proposal that would require troop withdrawals to begin within 120 days of enactment, with only a limited presence remaining after April 30. But once again, they are expected to fall short of the 60 votes needed to end debate and move to a final roll call on the measure.