“Democratic congressional leaders on Friday offered the first concessions in a fight with President Bush over a spending bill for Iraq, but the White House turned them down.”
In a closed-door meeting with Bush’s top aides on Capitol Hill, Democrats said they’d strip billions of dollars in domestic spending out of a war spending that Bush opposed if the president would accept a timetable to pull combat troops out of Iraq. As part of the deal, Democrats said they would allow the president to waive compliance with a deadline for troop withdrawals.
But no deal was struck.
“To say I was disappointed in the meeting is an understatement,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. “I really did expect that the president would accept some accountability for what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten, who rejected the deal, said any timetable on the war would undermine the nation’s efforts in Iraq.
“We consider that to be not a significant distinction,” he said. “Whether waivable or not, timelines send the wrong signal.”

why is george w. bush still our president…? why have we not picked up rakes and hoes and stormed the white house…?
And, yes, I DO take it personally
May 18th, 2007 at 1:38 pm“Stay the course” = Stubborn white republican.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:39 pm“We consider that to be not a significant distinction,†he said. “Whether waivable or not, timelines send the wrong signal.â€
Like WHAT? That at some point the Iraqi government will have to stand up for themselves? That we don’t plan on staying forever? Enlighten us, you fascist mouthpiece…
May 18th, 2007 at 1:41 pmChimpy has said the troops will not come home while he is president.
There is a solution to this problem — IMPEACHMENT.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:42 pmIs this Bush IIs’ psychological profile, too? You be the judge.
Found this on Wikipedia under Big Lie:
[edit] Used in Hitler’s psychological profile
The phrase was also used in a report prepared during the war by the United States Office of Strategic Services in describing Hitler’s psychological profile:[2]
His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.[3]
May 18th, 2007 at 1:45 pmwait till I turn 500 billion into 5 trillion with oil , all will vote for me again even the liberals
May 18th, 2007 at 1:46 pm“We consider that to be not a significant distinction,†he said. “Whether waivable or not, timelines send the wrong signal.â€
Like WHAT? That at some point the Iraqi government will have to stand up for themselves? That we don’t plan on staying forever?’
Actually, I kinda agree with you, CONservative. A waivable timeline seems like a good solution. It tells the Iraqis that they need to get their act together while, at the same time, giving the president the flexibility to react to any changes to the situation on the ground.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:47 pmCome on Palosi and Reid, just stop the madness..He’s going to play this stupid game untill the little rat basterd get’s his own way. blank check and no accountability forever…He’s vetoeing the bill’s so stop sending them and no more money, bring the troop’s home, end it now, dammit….Broadcast all over the air way’s so the dum basses on the evening new’s get it, he’s not signing so stop playing..End of game…Blessings..Impeach now.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:49 pmWhy the hell are Dems caving in to this bunch of blood thirsty war monger? When are they going to grow some spine?
The people of this country want their sons and daughters home; Period.
If the Dems can’t do it then we should fire them and get someone else who can
May 18th, 2007 at 1:50 pmThat’s a good Dumbya! Keep vetoing the bills and you will eventually run out of money and have to bring our troops home where they belong.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:50 pmHere’s an idea Democratic “leaders”, STOP GIVING CONCESSIONS. For f*ck sake grow a spine.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:51 pmWhat signal does no pay raises send?
May 18th, 2007 at 1:52 pmRebel,
What a coincidence, I referenced the lack of a spine also before reading your post. I think we’re on to something here, SHOW SOME LEADERSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 18th, 2007 at 1:53 pmGiving bull shit bush anything is like giving a drunk your car key’s…any one who continues to back the failed bush war’s show’s their ignorance and knee (jerk off) reaction’s to the fear and smear lies that this group have been spoon feeding the public for over 6 year’s…The corruption and lack of accountability is staggering and the bull headed arogance is so common in drunk druggies..Get real, stop this G.D. madness…Impeach the basterd’s and stop this damn war…Blessings
May 18th, 2007 at 1:59 pmThe ongoing drama in D.C. is characteristic of GDumbya’s whole life:
– the Democrats are attempting to conduct an intervention with GDumbya
– the co-dependent lackeys like Josh Bolten are forming a circle around GDumbya and enabling his continuing alcoholic behavior
GDumbya is insane — that is, he continues to do the same things and expect different results. GDumbya is irresponsible — he continues to refuse any responsibility or accountability for the messes he has created.
The only reasonable thing for the majority in Congress to do is remove him (and the shadow president, Darth Cheney) from office.
May 18th, 2007 at 2:03 pmDems quit f*cking around and impeach the crooked Chimp already.
May 18th, 2007 at 2:07 pmDefend the Constitution, or you are complicit with the crimes
Send him the bill over and over again. Mr. President, if you want the troops to be funded, then you need to accept the fact that you are not the only Decider. We, the People are Deciders, too.
Rove will have a hard time spinning this veto.
The Democrats should go after this in the media, also reminding everyone that the Iraqis are asking us to leave. In the past, the administration said that “we’ll stay as long as the Iraqi government wants us to stay”. The Iraqi government, the Iraqi people, the people of neighboring countries, and Americans want us out of Iraq. The only people who want us to stay are Al Qaeda, some of the Kurds, the Taliban (because it keeps fewer troops in Afghanistan), and George W. Bush and his neocon buddies. Nice company he’s keeping.
May 18th, 2007 at 2:08 pmThere is no reasoning with the idiot-in-chief so the Dems need to realize it and stop trying. * will continue to veto every bill until he gets exactly what he wants — open checkbook with no strings. Time for Pelosi and Reid to stop trying to reason with him and start sending bills for just the amount needed to get our troops out of there. Not one cent more…
May 18th, 2007 at 2:13 pmDems, crow from the f*cking rooftops! “We have attempted compromise after compromise with this President, who insists on his way and his way alone. When adults return to the Oval Office, this Congress stands ready to work with them.”
May 18th, 2007 at 2:23 pmWhat signal does no pay raises send?
Comment by IgnoranceIsNotBliss
As a State Employee not getting a pay raise this year, I can answer this one for you…
“We don’t care about you!”
May 18th, 2007 at 2:23 pmNothing short of impeachment will stop this war.
May 18th, 2007 at 2:26 pm“iRaq 4ever!” is the message the repubs want to send the troops,
May 18th, 2007 at 2:28 pmalong with “you deployments are now 15 months long” and “no you can’t have a 3.5% raise”
Please join me in massive email’s to Palosi and Reid…I sent mine off today telling them impeachment must be back on the table and investigation’s immediately..I also said no more fund’s for war…Let it end with the veto.Period…Blessings all..Hug your country today, just do it.
May 18th, 2007 at 2:37 pmVeto away, Nazi, you will simply be adding to the destruction of the GOP.
Bye bye, Republicans.
May 18th, 2007 at 2:49 pmThe Dems are clever: keep on proposing all manner of solutions and compromises to show the public just how myopic and thoughtless Bush really is by virtue of his constant vetoes. I very much doubt that it has occurred to anyone in the Republican party that this is what is going on.
May 18th, 2007 at 2:56 pmTry and cut a deal with Satan and you may loose your soul. What the hell are the Dem’s thinking?
May 18th, 2007 at 3:00 pmHell. What does it matter. Bush can’t tell time anyway. But he does stand in line well behind his fatass wealtlhy industrial base.
May 18th, 2007 at 3:05 pmNext step: Dems give Bush the blank check, and Repugs crow that Dems continue to back the war. Why should Bush have any respect for this Congress?
May 18th, 2007 at 3:16 pmI’m wondering. Does the compromise bill from the house and senate have to go back to the House and Senate for review, or does it go straight to the President for his signature or veto? If it goes straight to the President, I’m wondering how this’d go over:
A bill, denuded of any and all so-called ‘pork’, that specifically funds the VA office, the pentagon, and includes iron-clad guidelines and a final date to leave. Then let Bush veto it, and call out loud and clear across blogs, TV ads, and everywhere they can to emphasize Bush failed to approve the funding because he refused to play by the rules they set.
But then again, these are politicians. Why am I expecting them to do anything that makes _sense_…
May 18th, 2007 at 3:16 pmIs IMPEACHMENT back on the table yet?
It’s the one thing Bush CAN’T VETO!
May 18th, 2007 at 3:16 pm#23, Sharon, I agree with you. Screw W and don’t send another bill for him to sign. The mistake made with the last one is telling the drunk that there will be no other funding measure coming for signature, so if you veto it, tough sh*t. These concessions they are talking about just make me sick. They go to the White House and W just waves his d*ck in their faces and says, “what are you going to do about it?”. Call this guy’s bluff and get a spine. Otherwise write your reps and tell them their job is in jeopardy in ‘08 or whenever their term is up. They are forgetting their mandate.
May 18th, 2007 at 3:22 pmTHAT is the ONE thing in this message that is TRULY disturbing, that THEY would LET this IDIOT waive compliance?
JUST when you thought they grew some spines, the cave like wimps and say THEY are disappointed?
Just goes to show you, that NO ONE can be trusted in Washington!
May 18th, 2007 at 3:23 pmDem congressional leaders symbolically give comfort to the enemy.
May 18th, 2007 at 3:25 pmDems should have told Bush, “we’re not going to fund it. You had your chance to sign the bill and you blew it. Guess you should go ask for the money from the Saudi’s.” Oh, right. That is where we are borrowing the money to fund the war anyway. Along with China, and others. Four years into a war and he’s funding it by still asking for emergency spending bills, instead of putting the cost into the war. We are going so deeply in debt to other countries, they will just call the loan and destroy us, no shots fired.
May 18th, 2007 at 3:41 pmCBSNews: The Street Orphans Of Baghdad
Baghdad has thousands of orphans — no one knows the exact number. There are too many for the eight orphanages in Iraq’s capital city. Some facilities crowd 10 kids to a small bedroom.
Mr Bush how many people have to die
May 18th, 2007 at 3:47 pmabove #34 should have read, “putting the cost into the budget” not war. Doh.
May 18th, 2007 at 3:47 pmTo those calling for impeachment: have you forgotten that our newly-elected Democratic Speaker couldn’t reject this option fast enough? She might as well have included that in her oath…”I solemnly swear to uphold……and never to impeach the preznit!
May 18th, 2007 at 3:53 pmDems, crow from the f*cking rooftops! “We have attempted compromise after compromise with this President, who insists on his way and his way alone. When adults return to the Oval Office, this Congress stands ready to work with them.â€
Comment by BlueArkansas — May 18, 2007 @ 2:23 pm
A good start.
Might I add that they should be telling all of the media outlets that they support the troops so much that are going to stand firm on getting them out of harm’s way this year!
And that they support the security of this country so much that they want to avoid overtaxing the military any further!
That they support the health of this country so much that they will stop funding an unsuccessful war and stop draining the treasury.
They should make sure that it’s clear to any that haven’t already realized it themselves that the Bush administration has threatened the security of this country and has damaged the readiness of the troops with their actions and their intractable stance.
The Democrats need to go on the offense in a big way!
May 18th, 2007 at 4:19 pmThe Democrats, having promised to promote bi-partisanship in the Legislative branch,(something that was completely missing when it was controlled by Republicans),are simply trying to accomodate the wishes of the Republican minority by becoming complicit in the ongoing murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. They are bending over backwards to be fair and not appear to be bullying the minority party. And after all, what’s more important–the illegal war or congeniality in their workplace? Seriously, F*** the whole lot! They are all murderers!
May 18th, 2007 at 4:24 pmThe continuing stubbornness of the Administration to even consider changing the doomed course they have set themselves on is beyond frustrating. Despite all evidence that the Iraq is a dead end and the begging by almost all American’s for the war to end, they continue to pursue a strategy that cannot have any success. On top of this, the costs of the war are not completely reflected in the billions of dollars spent already.
There are even higher costs to this continual pursuit of a failed policy than are normally discussed. It takes attention and funding away from issues that are of critical importance.
For example, the fight against global poverty. The Borgen Project estimates that it would take $19 billion annually to end hunger and malnutrition world wide. And the UN has established a set of Millennium Development Goals which seek to eliminate global poverty by 2025, but political support in the US is lacking. Imagine if the billions of dollars spent on the war in Iraq so far had been directed towards giving people the ability to feed their families, access to clean water and healthcare, and a basic education.
These missed opportunities for making a real difference in the world are another high cost of the war in Iraq.
It is a terrible feeling to realize that despite citizen’s best efforts to make a change, the administration that is supposed to be representing them has no intention of changing its ways.
May 18th, 2007 at 4:34 pmNo more! Game over. Do not send another bill to the WH. It’s time to put the hammer down.
May 18th, 2007 at 4:53 pmOK - the Dems made a show of conceding something most of us didn’t want them to concede - but they did it anyway and bush said no.
May 18th, 2007 at 4:57 pmSo, now we say, F**k you Bush. No concessions, no deals. This is it. Take it or leave it. We will impeach your ass if you don’t support the troops and veto this bill.
No more - it’s over. Bush has to go down. Sooner than later.
No more deals.
Good post’s BnF, Buckaroo and all…What need’s to happen is for them to listen to us, read our post’s and pay attention to we the people and voter’s. If they continue with this crap I’m for a new party and booting them all out. They want to keep their seat’s they had better do what the people want..Blessings
May 18th, 2007 at 5:07 pm“Democratic congressional leaders on Friday offered the first concessions in a fight with President Bush over a spending bill for Iraq, but the White House turned them down.”
Concessions already. Wimps!!!
May 18th, 2007 at 6:01 pmIn a related story, somewhere a quarterback took the snap and immediately dropped to one knee to run out the clock. With the difference in scores more than a field goal (not enough senators to override veto), unless Bush fumbles, he still has possession.
May 18th, 2007 at 6:21 pm#45–You are correct when you say that the Dems can’t override a veto, but it is unconscionable that they won’t take a principled unified stand against the Iraq war.They must show the country exactly which side they’re on (assuming they’re against the war), to signal clearly that they’re at least trying, and to force the war-mongers unequivocally to go on record.
May 18th, 2007 at 7:03 pmThe way things are proceeding , it’s no wonder that the latest polls show Congress with a lower approval rating than the slimeball in the White House. What is so hard about doing the right thing?
Ok, so this is how it stands. The Democrats offered to take out all the items Bush complained about in his original veto, and make the timetable clause waivable, but still there.
And Bush said no.
Bush’s idea of compromise and bipartisanship is, “Give me everything I want with no strings and no accountability.” Sounds a lot like a dictator to me.
So, now the Democrats know that Bush will settle for nothing less than total capitulation. Will they give in and continue to fund Bush’s War ad infinitum?
Or, will they finally realize that they are dealing with a runaway President whose only constraint is impeachment and removal from office?
One again, since the President is unwilling to budge, I say, DON’T SEND HIM ANOTHER BILL. LET HIS VETO STAND. BUSH VETOED THE FUNDING; HE VETOED HIS WAR.
May 18th, 2007 at 7:05 pm#34 Mr. President, you have given aide and comfort to the enemy in the past as well. on June 5th, 1999 when you were running for the office you currently occupy, you said,“I think it’s important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they [our servicemen] will be involved and when they would be withdrawn.â€
> Actually, I kinda agree with you, CONservative. -Exley
gosh Exley, welcome to the reality the rest of us share. I always said you were more deluded than simply a dumb@ss, and hopefully you will at some point realize what an unreasonable, pigheaded jack@ss the guy you’ve been supporting is. I wasnt even political until this idiot came into office and showed me exactly how much of a moron could be put in charge of things when the american populace is asleep at the wheel.
May 18th, 2007 at 9:58 pm#25: I agree!
The Democrats should pass this bill, watch The Decider veto it, and make a major media case over the issue. There isn’t a good excuse Bush can use for casting a veto on this measure. The bill they discussed today is void of the pork Bush tried to whine about in the last bill we sent up. The bill they discussed today has waiveable timelines (which actually kinda pisses me off)… but it lets the Decider be The Decider. What spin could they possibly put on this veto that would make it seem even slightly justified?
All the Democrats would have to do is say, “we compromised - this BIPARTISAN bill has no pork, it gives our troops a raise, and it ensures they are better protected while giving the President the authority to waive the timeline. There is no reasonable explanation for his veto.” Shout it from the rooftops.
He wants to veto legislation the Democratic congress presents him. He wants to be in control. Okay, call his bluff - put him on the defensive, send him reasonable bills and let him try to explain his vetoes again and again. There’s no way the Republican party can claim the Democrats are not funding the troops - this is a bipartisan effort that the President is rejecting.
This puts a bigger wedge between reasonable, realistic Republicans and the President.
It puts a bigger wedge between Republican congressional members who are worried about re-election and the President.
I can’t see any reason why they don’t just force the President’s hand. Every time this President turns his back on our soldiers and the will of the American people, force him to explain his actions.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:16 pmHe aint leavin till he gets those oil rights
May 18th, 2007 at 10:50 pmOr mass extinction.
Given the choice, which do you think Bush would prefer?
May 19th, 2007 at 6:09 am“I really did expect that the president would accept some accountability for what we’re trying to accomplish here.â€
Reid played the “really did not expect” card, you know, like, “I was amazed,” “I was surprised.” Either he is thoroughly naive or he is playing a tactical game. Perhaps both is true.
We know the truth about Bush, even if Reid acts as if this president actually has credibility.
One message to Reid and Pelosi. Impeach. You want me to spell it for you?
May 19th, 2007 at 6:19 am