POLITICO: President Barack Obama was leaving a Senate Republican meeting on the budget earlier this month when he unexpectedly bumped into Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) as they both came off the White House elevators.
Lugar voiced his objections directly to Obama about the U.S. military policy in Libya, raising concerns about its scope and cost and the lack of deliberation within Congress about the NATO bombing campaign.
It was the latest in a steady stream of criticisms Lugar has voiced about Obama’s policies and agenda. During the past several weeks, Lugar has blasted Obama in stark terms for lacking a “vision” in Afghanistan and for delivering an “over-the-top” partisan speech on immigration policy. Protesting Obama’s speech, Lugar has withdrawn his co-sponsorship of the DREAM Act, an immigration-reform measure. On Monday, Lugar sent a lengthy letter to the president about his administration’s “failure” to consult with Congress on the Libya campaign — even as a bipartisan group of seven other senators introduced a resolution backing the military conflict… (more)
