Peoria (IL) Journal Star:
It almost goes without saying — or should — that America cannot speak with 48 different voices on foreign policy. It almost goes without saying — or should — that politics must stop at the water’s edge, a code to which the well-intentioned, when America still bragged statesmen, once hewed.
And so it is with great disappointment that we note the intrusion of 47 U.S. senators — including Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk — into ongoing executive branch negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program through an open letter to Tehran most notable for its tone of condescension and presumptuousness.Cleveland Plain Dealer:
The decision by 47 Republican senators to sign a patronizing open letter to the leaders of Iran seeking to instruct them on how the U.S. constitutional system works -- and, by the way, to upend talks closing in on a nuclear weapons deal -- is as depressingly partisan as it is shortsighted.
The signatories, who sadly include the usually rational Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and John McCain of Arizona, have lost sight of national interest -- and of how their letter is undercutting it.Cincinnati Enquirer:
Sen. Rob Portman's name is one we didn't expect to see on the letter meant to undercut ongoing nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran.
It's bad enough that the letter, signed by 47 senators, diminishes the dignity of the Senate by disparaging the president and presenting an amateur lesson on U.S. governance by insisting any deal signed by President Obama is easily reversed. It's awful that the Iranians responded with cold calm, pointing out the letter's factual flaws and insisting, rightly, that U.S. presidents have regularly and unilaterally approved such deals with foreign nations – deals their successors are loathe to break.We've also seen other media outlets criticizing the sophomoric gambit initiated by freshman tea party Sen. Tom "Ear to Ear" Cotton (Yahoo-AR), a.k.a., "the Metternich of the Ozarks" (h/t Charles Pierce). One could also imagine the jaws of our European partners dropping when word of the malicious letter came out, complete with its ignorance of both the U.S. Constitution and international agreements. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier picked up his jaw long enough to say:
"This is not a trifle. The negotiations are difficult enough, so we didn't actually need further irritations."Unfortunately, as the letter to their mullah co-conspirators correctly notes, these "irritations" in the form of the 47
