Excerpt of the Vice President's Remarks at a Reception for Senator Jeff Sessions.

As Prepared for Delivery

WASHINGTON -- Twisted logic is not exactly a new phenomenon in Washington - but lately it's gone to new heights. At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator John McCain put the following question to General Petraeus. Quote: "Suppose we send you over to your new job O only we tell you that O you can't have any additional troops. Can you get your job done?" General Petraeus replied, "No, sir." Yet within days of his confirmation by a unanimous vote in the Senate - I repeat, a unanimous vote of confidence in General Petraeus - a large group of senators tried to pass a resolution opposing the reinforcements he said were necessary. And the House of Representatives, of course, did pass such a resolution. It was not a proud episode in the history of the United States Congress.

Now the Democrats in Congress are working another angle to undercut General Petraeus and his troops. The House passed an emergency war spending bill that put a long list of restrictions on our commanders, and put conditions and deadlines on Iraq's government. And if all the conditions aren't met to Congress's satisfaction, the bill mandates a precipitous American withdrawal on a date certain. The House bill also mandates that by March 1st of next year, American forces would begin a retreat - with no regard whatsoever for the actual conditions on the ground in Iraq. This action by the House of Representatives is irresponsible, and sends exactly the wrong message to the enemy. When members of Congress speak not of victory but of time limits, deadlines, or other arbitrary measures, they're telling the enemy to simply watch the clock and wait us out. It's time the self-appointed strategists on Capitol Hill understood a very simple concept: You cannot win a war if you tell the enemy you're going to quit.

In the Senate, as well, Democrats have passed another bad piece of legislation - over the strong objections, I might add, of Alabama's two U.S. senators. Like the House, the Senate has set an arbitrary deadline for withdrawal. And like the House, the Senate Democrats have filled the bill with extra spending for special interests - spending that has nothing to do with winning the war and protecting the United States of America.

The House and Senate bills are both unacceptable, and if either version comes to the President's desk, he will use the veto power, no question about it.

It's also clear that we've got enough supporters of the military in Congress to sustain a veto. And so it is pointless for the Democrats to continue pursuing this legislation. Meanwhile, funding for our mission in Iraq will begin to run out in the middle of this month. It's time for Congress to stop the political theater and send the President a bill he can sign into law.

By delaying funding for the troops, the Democrats believe they can make the President accept unwise and inappropriate restrictions on our commanders. It's nothing less than an attempt to force the President's hand. They're going to find out that they've misread George W. Bush.

The fact is that the United States military answers to one commander-in-chief in the White House, not 535 commanders-in-chief on Capitol Hill. We expect the House and Senate to meet the needs of our military on time, in full, and with no strings attached.