EMERSON DELIVERS IRAQ WARNING

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, the congresswoman from Missouri's 8th District, helped deliver what's being called a "blunt warning" to President Bush on his Iraq policy.

The New York Times reports that the meeting, held in the private residence of the White House, was unvarnished and included a dire prediction for Bush: If things don't improve in Iraq by this fall, more Republicans will wash their hands of the president.

According to the Times:

Representative Charles W. Dent of Pennsylvania, a co-chairman of the Tuesday Group, an alliance of about 30 moderate Republican lawmakers, helped arrange the meeting ...

Lawmakers said Mr. Bush made no commitments, but seemed grateful for their support and said a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq could cause the sort of chaos that occurred in Southeast Asia after Americans left Vietnam ...

The delegation included Representatives Mark Kirk of Illinois, another leader of the moderate coalition; Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania; James T. Walsh of New York; and Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri. Mr. Kirk, Mr. Walsh and Ms. Emerson declined to discuss the meeting.

Emerson's southern Missouri colleague, Rep. Roy Blunt, did not attend the meeting. No surprise there.