Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, will testify Wednesday on Capitol Hill. But Fallon's resignation -- and the White House's decision to structure the week's events almost identically to the September appearance -- has returned the focus to Petraeus himself.
The White House has rejected congressional calls for Fallon to appear. Fallon will remain a Navy admiral for several months, and Democrats would like his views to be more widely known.
Citing Fallon's resignation and the administration's subsequent refusal to allow him to testify, Democrats accuse Bush of stifling officers who disagree with administration views on Iraq.
But Petraeus' appearance this week also could place the Democratic presidential candidates in a position much like Bush's: Testifying before them will be a battlefield general with whom they disagree. Clinton is on the armed services panel, Obama on foreign relations.
"If you want a commander-in-chief test, here it comes: How do they handle the commander when he comes back to report on a controversial situation?" said Frederick W. Kagan, a military analyst who helped devise the administration's troop buildup plan. "How do they handle a respected and amazingly successful general when he comes back and tells them something they don't want to hear?"
Aides to Clinton and Obama have sought to play down the importance of the candidates' coming encounter with Petraeus. A Clinton spokesman couched the appearance as just one of multiple committee hearings and trips to Iraq that have helped her develop expertise on the military and the region.
Obama, said an aide of his, intends to "ask the questions that the administration has failed to answer" about the Iraqi government's shortcomings.
"I don't know if this one moment will have grand historical significance, but it is important to have this debate," said the aide, an Obama national security advisor who was not authorized by the campaign to speak publicly on the subject.
Democrats are wary of seeming too focused on presidential politics at the expense of serious matters.
Senators examine committee witnesses in order of seniority. McCain, in the first committee hearing of the day, will have an early and lengthy opportunity to question Petraeus.
The Democratic chairmen -- Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware for foreign relations and Carl Levin of Michigan for armed services -- have been asked whether they intend to allow the less senior Clinton and Obama to move up in the order. They said they would rely on normal seniority.
"Carl and I are like broken records in our caucus on this: The last thing we should be doing is viewing this through a political prism," Biden said Friday. "McCain is the ranking guy, so he's going to get to speak first, and I think it's good to hear what McCain has to say. I love the idea of McCain having to explain what's going on here and why this is working so well."
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peter.spiegel@latimes.com
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julian.barnes@latimes.com
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Times staff writer Maeve Reston, traveling with the McCain campaign, contributed to this report.
