Careful - He bites

This could be in reference to Bush's penchant for vetoing good bills multiple times. He vetoed Stem cell research twice, and it looked like he might be vetoing the SCHIP again. But no need- the House didn't get the 2/3's majority it needed, despite the support of 44 Republicans for the bill. So really, the blunder falls partly on the House, and the supporters of the bill who failed to drum up enough support. That said, just like it's pretty hard to get someone to quit a habit, like smoking, its also extremely hard for some Republicans in the pockets of big tobacco to change their spots for a few poor children. A clever add campaign for SCHIP might have been something Dickens-inspired... perhaps some young scamps asking "please sir, I want some more... health care," and showing a fat, lazy republican (modeled perhaps after Thompson) yelling "More?!?!" and then have him aim shots at the child's head with used needles, between drags on his cigar.

But back to Bush - what this unyielding sense of take-no-prisoners politicking really shows is Bush's inability to compromise. We've seen it many times before, but this time it is after his accusation that D.C. is too partisan. Well, the partisanship comes from the stern - and Bush has been hogging that space for almost seven years, doing his best Leo DiCaprio. The really scary part about this is Bush will continue a record of making repeatedly bad choices, despite the similar outlook before he decides. And this is particularly problematic when it comes not just to domestic policy, but war policy. Bush could learn from the mistakes made in Iraq so far, but too the most extent, he refuses to see the problems. And when he and his entourage look at Iran, they see a new target. Now, Iran does have some explaining to do, for sure. But the Bush administration, baiting its breath on the coasts with it's aircraft carriers, is in jeopardy of repeating its mistakes, just swapping out all its war policy memos - taking the "q" and inserting "n." And some Americans aren't the only ones who are extremely apprehensive. The Brits, our pals across the pond, are even scared to alert the FBI or the administration about potential threats or military action taken against Iranians in around Iraq, fearful it will fuel retaliation, or at least be part of the argument for the US to insight an attack. It's time for Congress to step up, and enforce their checking and balancing powers - the idea that a president can call a war, without congressional approval is problematic- there is a constitutional clause allowing the president to go forward in states of absolute emergency. But you can bet that the Bush administration has made plans(albeit flawed ones), and will carefully orchestrate its implication if they so choose, without the right bestowed to them officially from congress, at least before they actually start. This can't happen again- we would just be flushing ourselves down to the next, deeper circle of foreign policy hell.