Feingold makes national news, but major Wisconsin papers spike it

They say a prophet is without honor in his own country.

Latest example: A national Associated Press story credits Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold with playing a key role in the debate over the war in Iraq:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Five months ago, Sen. Russ Feingold introduced a resolution urging President Bush to give Congress a time frame for bringing troops home from Iraq. Only one senator, California Democrat Barbara Boxer, co-sponsored it.

But on Tuesday, 40 senators, including Feingold, voted for essentially the same idea: a Democratic amendment calling on Bush to outline a "campaign plan with estimated dates for the phased redeployment'' of U.S. troops.

Although the amendment failed on a mostly party-line vote, the fact that it was front and center on the Senate floor shows how Feingold's idea had moved from the periphery to the mainstream.

"It's real clear to me that people have finally figured out how upset the American people are with this Iraq situation,'' Feingold, D-Wis., said in a telephone interview.

Feingold, who introduced the resolution in June, followed that up with a call in August for a target date of Dec. 31, 2006, to complete the military mission and remove all U.S. forces. The Democratic amendment Tuesday did not include a specific date.

After the amendment was defeated, the Senate approved a Republican alternative that said 2006 "should be a period of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty,'' with Iraqi forces taking the lead in providing security to create conditions for the phased redeployment of U.S. forces.

"I feel like we've made some real progress,'' Feingold said. "This is light years away from where I started.''

There's more, and you can find it in the San Jose Mercury-News or the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

But for some reason you won't find it in Wisconsin's two biggest newspapers, the Journal Sentinel or Wisconsin State Journal. Theories or explanations welcome.