"Just call it a 'no surrender' party"

The White House press corps helps Bush plan for a veto.

Published April 25, 2007 4:23PM (EDT)

Who needs Karl Rove when you've got the White House press corps planning political events for you?

At this morning's White House press gaggle, reporters pressed -- and then advised -- Dana Perino on the kind of ceremony the president might have when he vetoes the supplemental spending bill for Iraq that's making its way to his desk.

From the transcript:

Reporter: Do you envision ... a formal -- I don't want to call it a ceremony, but for lack of a better word -- event, at this point?

Perino: We're talking about it, and what we would do, but we don't have any plans yet to announce. We're thinking about it.

Reporter: OK.

Perino: But, obviously, the president has said he's going to veto it, and I think that it's important that the American people see him doing it.

Reporter: But this would be only his second veto, and I recall that during the stem cell veto, there was an elaborate event in which he brought families. I'm wondering if you're planning to bring military --

Perino: A little bit too early for us to preview, since we don't even have the bill yet and we don't know what day that it's coming. It's important.

Reporter: Yes, but you can get it together.

Perino: We're pretty good. (Laughter.)

Reporter: Just call it a "no surrender" party. (Laughter.)

Perino: We'll take that under consideration.

Reporter: A great Bruce Springsteen [song], "No Retreat, No Surrender."

Perino: I don't think he'd come. (Laughter.)


By Tim Grieve

Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.

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