A six-year, $286 billion transportation bill passed both houses of Congress last week. George W. Bush threatened to veto any transportation bill that exceeded $284 billion. But George Bush is the the president who just can't say no, so he now promises to sign the bill, which features a $5.8 million trail for snowmobilers in Vermont, $7 million for the National Infantry Museum, and a $200 million bridge named for Don Young, an Alaska Congressman who not surprisingly voted for the bill. After 54 months in office, President Bush has yet to wield his veto pen. His father vetoed 44 bills. President Reagan rejected 78. Franklin Roosevelt vetoed 635 bills. Not since the 1854 has there been so long a time without a vetoed bill. In the early years of the Republic, the infrequent brandishment of the veto pen might be explained by the infrequency of unconstitutional legislation. President Bush can rely on no such rationalization for his inability to tell Congress "no."

Grover Norquist in '08!

Other than keeping Norman Manetta on as Sec. of Trans. and refusing to profile Arab males at airports, this is the aspect of Bush's presidency that most disturbs me; he spends like a drunken sailor! But compared to the prescription drug fiasco, this is chump change!

Drunken sailor in the White House. What a major disappointment.

What do we do for 08'? So far, doesn't look good.

The bigger disappointment is Congress. How about a little fiscal restraint?

As a Retired Chief with 21 years of honorable service in the United States Navy, I take offense at the charactarization of President Bush "spending like a drunken sailor".

That characterization is an insult to drunken sailors everywyere. Drunken sailors stop spending when we run out of money. And at least we end up with tatoos, sexually tansmitted diseases and knife scars to brag about afterwards.

Empty threats by anyone...even Presidents...do not engender respect and discipline, they engender contempt and contumaciousness.

Yes this is one of the few things that and I can do hold against the President.

To qualify: Congress is acting like a group of drunken sailors. Captain Bush is asleep at the helm.

Curtis, thanks for your service. You must have been a Yeoman. "Contumaciousness". Definately not a word an Ordinance Chief would use.

"What do we do for 08'?"

Probably the same thing the Right has been doing for over forty years now. Support a conservative Republican candidate in the GOP primary (e.g. Tancredo). Following his loss in the primary, "unite" behind someone like John McCain in the name of "the lesser two evils" and the specter of a Hillary Clinton presidency. Then rinse and repeat.

Never thought I'd be agreeing with a statement like that, but I kind of have to agree with that James.

Also, voting for McCain would be like voting for a candidate like Hillary who doesn't have balls.

With all due respect for his service, I think McCain got softened up enough at the Hanoi Hilton where he does not have the strength to stand up for the convitions of his party.

It's got to be somebody other than him for the R's.

I don't think the problem so much is a problem of Bush refusing to tell Congress "no" as he pretty much controls congress. The problem is that Congress refusing to tell Bush no whenever he sends him whatever unconstitutional costly piece of legislation or war.

I'm sure that in the unlikely chance that Congress may actually pass any meaningful piece of immigration restriction that Bush will veto it.

In fact you could say that . While, "In the early years of the Republic, the infrequent brandishment of the veto pen might be explained by the infrequency of unconstitutional legislation" In the twilight years of our republic (or perhaps more appropiately, in the dawning of our empire) the infrequent brandishment of the veto pen might be explained by the infrequency of constitutional legislation, because I can assure you if congress passed a constitutional budget, Bush would veto it.

I am a Vermonter. I would definitely vote for improving roads than snowmobile trails. We don't need another. Absolutely incredible...spend spend spend on fooling things that have nothing to do with important transportation issues.

Bush will of course sign the bill, but if he had a line item veto, would he use it?

Actually, I am an "airdale". Aviation Electronics Technician (Air Warfare Specialist/Master Training Specialist). ATC(AW/MTS) for short.

I'm also a certified redneck from the Corn Fields of north central Indiana. I like to try to make myeslf sound smarter than I actually am by throwing in fancy words from time to time. Any time I run across a good word I: a)look it up to make sure I know what it means; and b)file it away for future use.

I also have a file of apothegms (that is becoming quite unwieldy...I need to convert it into a searchable database rather than a raw text file) that I find quite useful when I seem unable to adequately express myself.

A couple that seem quite apropos for this subject:

"[A] wise and frugal government...shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government."
--Thomas Jefferson

"As you may have heard, the U.S. is putting together a constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? Think about it -- it was written by very smart people, it's served us well for over two hundred years, and besides, we're not using it anymore."
--Jay Leno

It's all good Curtis.