President Bush Calls for Line Item Veto Once Ruled Unconstitutional

Do ya think Bush really did hear the voters? At least he's asking this time and not just doing something illegal because he thinks he has the right.

In a press conference on Wednesday, President Bush called on Congress to grant him Presidential power to line item veto appropriations bills in an attempt to curb pork-barrel spending. Citing earmark appropriations buried in voluminous pages of a bill, President Bush has asked Congress to give him the power to cancel certain portions without vetoing the entire bill.

I've said in the past this is something which seems abundantly practical. It's almost criminal how an amendment for something like the famous "bridge to nowhere" can be tacked onto a necessary flood relief bill to ensure it gets approved. No one wants to kill flood relief just to stop the building of an unnecessary bridge.

But the devil is in the details, as they say, and this is a huge weapon when used to make sure most of the opposition's amendments never get passed.

I wouldn't trust Bush for a second to use such power judiciously and intelligently.

OMG! I just put the words Bush, judiciously and intelligently in the same sentence. I will go to my corner for a time out now.

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