Bush Rocked by Senate Rebellion: Julian Borger

[Nancy Waterman]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1065804,00.html

A Republican rebellion in the Senate against White House plans for rebuilding Iraq raised questions yesterday about President George Bush's authority in Washington as he struggles to maintain control of a divided administration.

A late-night Senate vote to turn half the $20bn (£12bn) Iraq reconstruction budget into a loan marked a serious setback for the administration, which had wanted all the money in the form of a grant. It also came as a personal defeat for the president.

On Tuesday, Mr Bush had called in nine Republican rebels and ordered them to support his version of the bill, reportedly slamming a table at one point and refusing to answer their questions.

The outburst did him little good. Eight Republican senators voted against the administration on Thursday.

<snip>

There is worse to come for Mr Bush in the next few weeks. The leak investigation is expected to gather steam and will either produce a culprit close to the Oval Office or provoke claims of a whitewash.

[joeybee12]

1. Dumbo had a hissy fit!!!!!!!!!!!

I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DEM FAN]

3. Poor Baby. Empty Suit Is Not Getting His Way.

I LOVE IT. :-)

[The Zanti Regent]

12. Keep throwing those tantrums Chimp

Keep your blood pressure going up and up. Maybe we'll get lucky and you'll have a paralyzing stroke!

[northzax]

20. great, then we get cheney

I wish nothing bad on Bush. I want him to stand toe to toe with the Dem in 2004 and be repudiated by the American people. I don't want him to die, or to get sick, or anything like that. I want him to get thrown out of office by the American people. then, and only then, will he be gone from out lives.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

23. As long as he doesn't grab for the nuclear codes, I'm fine.

[mediaman007]

16. No wonder his daughters are hitting the bars...

I'll bet anything that that's how Barbara dealt with George when Dad was away on secret missions.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

24. Dubya actually has that "shaken baby" look about him....

...a cross between "deer in the headlights" and "that's my last line tonight".

[karlschneider]

17. Maybe next time he gets pissed off he'll pull a Kruschev!

:D
:bounce:

[Democrats unite]

2. And just think the best is yet to come!

eom.

[RandomKoolzip]

4. Yay! I love good news.

Evn the republicans are getting ansty with the goofy boy-king.

[joeybee12]

5. And they'll get ansty-ier as 2004 approaches

They're up shit creek with him leading their ticket--now they'll try to find a way to distance themselves from him!!!!!!!!!!!!

[caledesi]

8. JB12...oh yeah, that's it! The closer to election, the more distancing.

[The Zanti Regent]

13. Please Promise me Dr. Dean

Promise me you will not prescribe ANYTHING for the Chimp's blood pressure or mood disorders, OK??????????????????

[Skittles]

9. oh, NOW they are dissenting?

and all it cost was a trashed economy, an illegal invasion, YOUNG SOLDIERS GETTING KILLED EVERY DAY. There is certainly nothing heroic about these bastards.

[diplomats]

6. I love that last part

I have a feeling Ashcroft is going to "conclude" that they can't find the leaker, and that SHOULD lead to accusations of a whitewash.

[MissMarple]

7. Oh, just great. We now have President Temper Tantrum.

Have we ever had an administration that bullies and tantrums as much as this one?

[progressiverealist]

10. even some of the pugs had to figure this out eventually...

All hat and no cattle.

[Ardee]

11. Ironic aint it.....

that this stumbling block to a Bush request would come from the GOP...It seems increasingly clear to me that a coalition of republicans and democrats on the left may emerge from the tempestuous political climate in Washington to ultimately defeat George W. Likewise we may very well see the alliance of the right wing of the democratic party with its counterparts acroos the aisle.....

[arikara]

14. End times

There is speculation that pResident Cheney is the leaker from a non-disclosed location, The pretender's pappy sent him a message by honoring Teddy Kennedy, his triumphal parade to call on the queen has been cancelled and his spirit (such as it is) is now floating down a Thai river. Looks like time is running out.

[Judi Lynn]

15. Unusual comment from Richard Lugar

(snip) One alarmed senate Republican, Richard Lugar, called for Mr Bush to get a grip.

"The president has to be the president," he said. "That means the president over the vice-president, and over the secretaries of state and defence. And Dr Rice cannot carry that burden alone." (snip/...)

Thank you to Nancy Waterman. We waited a long time for an article this encouraging!

[T Bone]

19. Oh Lugar is always being thoughtful or alarmed or questioning

but when the VOTES in the Senate line up his almost ALWAYS line up with Bushco in the end... He is not liberal so quit saying that, more like an iconoclast that in the end always ends up seeing it Bushco's way when the votes are counted. I find him a little tiring, plus he is always droning along, and he just ends up looking like the pipsqueak he really is because he never votes in a truly thoughtful way or like he is the slightest bit alarmed. Did his vote line up with the repukes who went against Bushco on this ? No.

And you will notice it never does in the end.

[samsingh]

18. interesting that one coward backed down

[Gin]

21. hey..maybe we should use the Iraq shame symbol....the bottom

of our shoes....show your shoes for * !

[Media_Lies_Daily]

22. He's a member of the Save The Tables Coalition...that slap scared him!