George W. Bush, explaining why he vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have expanded healthcare coverage for children: "My job is a decision-making job. And as a result, I make a lot of decisions."
In a press briefing accompanying Bush's remarks, counselor to the president Ed Gillespie referred to the legislation Bush vetoed today as "what the Democrats proposed" and the product of the "Democrat leadership in Congress," then said that after "Democrats" try to override the veto, maybe "Democrats and Republicans" will "get together and try to come to an agreement."
The only catch? They already did. Forty-five Republicans in the House and 18 Republicans in the Senate joined Democrats in passing the legislation Bush vetoed.
Talking with residents of Lancaster, Pa., today, Bush said the most "disappointing thing about my experience in Washington is the harshness of the discourse; is the zero-sum attitude." "I've tried to do my part," he said, "by holding people with respect and to -- you know, talking about people in such a way that it doesn't degrade the process. I want this little guy to look at Washington and say, 'Wow, this is something I may aspire to.'"
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