The president met with leaders of the congressional minority this morning — the Dems, who run Congress, weren’t invited — and read a statement to the press afterwards. Bush was in lecture mode.
“Congress is not getting its work done. We’re near the end of the year, and there really isn’t much to show for it. The House of Representatives has wasted valuable time on a constant stream of investigations, and the Senate has wasted valuable time on an endless series of failed votes to pull our troops out of Iraq.”
It was boilerplate rhetoric from a president who can’t think of much else to say (or rather, his speechwriters can’t think of much else to tell Bush to say), but I found it interesting anyway. The president alluded to two main time-wasters: oversight and the war.
On the prior, it’s not surprising that Bush would lament a “constant stream of investigations” — he was, of course, the subject of the investigations — but it’s hard to characterize it as a waste of time. The year’s biggest congressional probe, for example, was into the Bush gang’s decision to politicize U.S. Attorneys’ office and federal prosecutions. The charges turned out to be true and the Attorney General was forced to resign in disgrace. It doesn’t sound like a “waste” to me.
Bush is right that some of these investigations have lasted a long time, but that might have something to do with his decision to stonewall Congress at every turn. The probes could have been wrapped up much sooner if the Bush gang didn’t drag out the process.
Besides, a “constant stream of investigations” is necessary when there’s a constant stream of scandals. The president wants fewer hearings and subpoenas? The president ought to start managing an executive branch less like an organized-crime family and more like an administration that takes the rule of law seriously.
On the latter, Bush sees Congress trying to withdraw troops from Iraq. It’s hard to see that as a waste, too.
According to Bush, the Senate has wasted time listening to the wishes of the American public. Sixty-eight percent of Americans want U.S. forces in Iraq reduced or withdrawn entirely, according to a September CBS poll. An October Washington Post/ABC poll also found that a majority of Americans “do not believe Congress has gone far enough in opposing the war.”
Congressional Democrats have faced stiff conservative opposition in their efforts to end the war. In May, Congress approved a bill stipulating troop withdrawals from Iraq — which Bush promptly vetoed. Two months later, Democrats pushed the issue in all-night Senate session, but Republicans again blocked the legislation.
The only person who has “wasted valuable time” is Bush, who continues to bury his head in the sand and back a failed policy in Iraq. As Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said in April, Congress’s actions have been “helpful in demonstrating to the Iraqis that American patience is limited.”
As for the rest of this morning’s statement, Bush continued to complain for seven minutes about “the Democrat [sic] side” not doing more to make him happy. I’m curious — if he’s so anxious to make progress with the Democratic majority, why weren’t they invited to this morning’s chat?
