Bush Blasts Congress? More Like BB Gun Rhetoric

[photo:CNN]
by Mondoreb

At CNN's website, the headline read "Bush Blasts Congress". Oh, if only that had been true. What was reported in the story and what the headline screamed were two different thingss. President Bush's press conference sounded pretty tame for a 'blasting'.
From CNN:

President Bush attacked Congress on Wednesday, ripping the new Democratic leadership for failing to achieve much in their first nine months of power.

Bush used his opening statement to list areas where he said "Congress has work to do": health care; security; the budget; education; housing; trade; help for military veterans; law enforcement and the judiciary.

He complained about progress on a number of bills before Congress, including children's health insurance, spending plans and internal surveillance legislation, saying Congress has wasted much of the past nine months.

"Now the clock is winding down. In some key areas, Congress is just getting started," Bush said.

"One of Congress' basic duties is to fund the day-to-day operations of the federal government. Yet Congress has not sent me a single appropriations bill," Bush said.

Bush said congressional Democrats are wasting time with proposed legislation calling the actions of Ottoman Turks against Armenians during World War I "genocide." Video Watch Bush address the Turkey issue »

"With all these pressing responsibilities, one thing Congress should not be doing is sorting out the historical record of the Ottoman Empire," Bush said. "The resolution on the mass killings of Armenians beginning in 1915 is counterproductive. ...

Yeah, Bush's a regular demolition man. "Congress has work to do" is pretty strong language. Contrast with the everyday invective the President endures from Congressional Democrats.

Yahoo News reports the following quotes of Democrats about Blaster Bush.

"Never has it been clearer how detached President Bush is from the priorities of the American people. By vetoing a bipartisan bill to renew the successful Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), President Bush is denying health care to millions of low-income kids in America." — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

"The president has denied basic health coverage to four million children, putting ideology ahead of compassion and common sense." — Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

"This president's priorities are unconscionable." — Presidential candidate Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

Need more?

Boston.com:

"President Bush needs to quit stonewalling about his White House's connection to corruption, and finally tell us how he's going to reform Washington," Reid said.

And again:

"The president's budget is filled with debt and deception, disconnected from reality, and continues to move America in the wrong direction. This administration has the worst fiscal record in history and this budget does nothing to change that. It clings to the same misguided policies: costly tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthiest, cuts in domestic priorities and more fiscal irresponsibility." -- Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D.

Compared to the opposition, Bush did no blasting yesterday. He was using a rhetorical BB gun. Unless you happen to be reporting from the mainstream media.
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