Signs that things may begin turning around politically in Iraq showed up yesterday in two news items the SurrenderMedia has overlooked. The first is some conciliatory signs between the Sunnis and Maliki’s government:

A meeting Tuesday between Iraq’s Shiite prime minister and the country’s top Sunni official appeared to ease tensions over threats that the entire Sunni bloc could pull out of the government.

“The meeting was necessary to melt the ice that was accumulated over the brotherhood between me and my brother, the prime minister,” said Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, after meeting with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

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We don’t have guarantees between us, but there is a process of reviewing to put back everything to the right track,” al-Maliki said. “Guarantees without being on the right track are worthless.”

Al-Hashimi, meanwhile, said the meeting was frank but “encouraging and productive” and “that we are able to build a promising future based on the real partnership and mutual trust, which is very important to make the political project going on toward the good.”

It seems liberal dreams that the Sunni’s would pull out of the government are not going to come true. Thank goodness. And what could possibly cause this rift to be healed? Pending constitutional changes (part of those pesky ‘benchmarks’ liberals keep rambling on about):

Members of a committee set up to reform Iraq’s constitution said on Tuesday they hoped to submit recommendations to parliament next week, a major step towards meeting a political benchmark Washington has set for Baghdad.

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“May 15 is a deadline and we must deliver the reform drafts to the parliament by this date,” Hasan al-Senaid, a committee member from the ruling Shia Alliance, told Reuters.

“There are still some disputes between groups and they are all under discussion. We are trying to solve these disputes this week,” Senaid said. Another committee member confirmed they hoped to submit the recommendations by next week.

Iraq’s constitution was ratified in 2005. Shias and Kurds voted overwhelmingly in favour while Sunni Arabs opposed it.

Among the most controversial articles are a law that allows provinces to win autonomy from Baghdad and form federal regions, the Arab identity of Iraq and rolling back a ban on former members of Saddam’s Baath party from public office.

Unlike our Democrat paralyzed Congress here, Iraq’s parliament is facing much tougher problems and yet still able to produce something. The only thing the Dems have produced is headlines about a lost war – which means they cannot take any credit if things turn around. Just pay a huge political price for the ridiculous negativism. And it is showing in the polls:

Approval ratings for the new Democratic Congress aren’t any better than they are for the president: 59 percent of respondents disapproved of Congress, while 35 percent approved.

The country is fed up with DC partisanship and is saying a pox on both sides. Except President Bush is not ever again going to face the voters. The same is not true for the Surrendercrats. The Dems are really going to feel it if things turn around in Iraq. Bush will vault up in the polls and the Dems will be stuck in the rut of their own making.