We are governed by a child:
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday invited Democrats to discuss their standoff over a war-spending bill, but he made clear he would not change his position opposing troop withdrawals. The White House bluntly said the meeting would not be a negotiation.
"It's time for them to get the job done, so I'm inviting congressional leaders from both parties — both political parties — to meet with me at the White House next week," Bush said in a speech to an American Legion audience in Fairfax, Va."At this meeting, the leaders in Congress can report on progress on getting an emergency spending bill to my desk," Bush said. "We can discuss the way forward on a bill that is a clean bill, a bill that funds our troops without artificial timetables for withdrawal and without handcuffing our generals on the ground. I'm hopeful we'll see some results soon from the Congress."
...Earlier Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino announced Bush's intention to invite Democrats to talk. Her description immediately raised questions about exactly what the point was.
When a reporter said it sounded like an invitation for Democrats to agree with Bush, Perino said, "Well, hopefully so."
Bush has promised to veto any bill that calls for timetables to pull troops out of Iraq.
Perino said Democrats could benefit by accepting Bush's invitation. "Maybe they need to hear again from the president about why he thinks it is foolish to set arbitrary timetables for withdrawal," she said.
Not a negotiation. An invitation to agree with the president. An opportunity for the president to tell congress why their position is foolish.
How very kind of him.
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