I'll take that bet

First, I apologize for the lag in posts over this weekend. Moving on, Dick Cheney is willing to bet that Democrats will back down. Well Mr. Vice President, I will take that bet. The Democrats have staked their political futures on a bill with a requirement that the troops come home. They are not going to back down. I will not only take your bet, but go double or nothing that the White House will back down. President Bush (or should I say Karl Rove) will not allow himself, and Republicans, to be branded as against the troops. Further, he will not allow the troops to go unfunded. As much as I despise the President due to his ineptitude, and the direction he has led our nation, I do believe he thinks he is doing what is best for our country. He cannot think that leaving the troops unfunded is the best course of action, even if it means agreeing to bring them home.

The President will blink first. If for no other reason than Congress moves slower, the President will blink first. If they pass another, more limited withdrawal funding bill, after the President's veto the second bill will not come until about the time (June\July) that current funding runs out. This will mean that a second veto will mean the troops will go without funding. There is no way that the President will take such a risk. Especially since the Democrats have the moral high ground in that Congress was given the power of the purse strings. Our Constitutional framework (as argued in previous posts) clearly requires that both the President and Congress give CONTINUING approval of wars or else the troops must come home. As misguided as this President is, he will blink and bring the troops home before he will allow them to go unfunded. Make no mistake he will play political games with the outcome, and claim the Democrats doomed us to defeat, but in the end this is just the political cover he needs. While he may earnestly, and incorrectly, believe that we need to remain in Iraq I think he would love the political cover to get our troops home. If he is going to lose, he certainly hopes he can at least score some political points in the process. The only question I have, is how much are you willing to throw down on this proposition Mr. Vice President?

Madison