So much for the idea of compromise
Well, isn't this nice... (link courtesy TPM)
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."...
Got that guys? Bush view of the proper role of Congress is to "report" to him and to approve whatever he asks for. How dare they suggest that they are in any way co-equal.
There were two reasons why Bush got so upset with Nancy Pelosi's trip to Damascus. One because it upstaged him as President and two because it upstaged him as a man.