December 20, 2007
President Bush's Passive-Aggressive Holiday Greeting
Speaking at his final White House press conference of the year, President Bush congratulated Congress on its 11th-hour legislative achievements while making sure to backhand lawmakers for taking so long to get there.
"I thank the members of both parties for their hard work," Bush said, cheering the passage this week of the alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch, a lending crisis fix, an energy efficiency package and new defense spending. "I am pleased we are able to end this year on a high note."
Returning later to the AMT bill, the president added, "Unfortunately, Congress passed this legislation after a lengthy delay. It is going to add to the time it takes to process tens of billions in refunds. We will work hard to minimize the impact of congressional delay."
And after thanking Congress for sending him new spending for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan before the New Year, Bush noted that it was "approved at the last minute, nearly three months after the end of the fiscal year." He continued, "When Congress wastes so much time and leaves its work until the final days before Christmas, it is not a responsible way to run the government."
The president later denied that his relationship with the Democratic-led Congress was truly "antagonistic," but his annual pre-holiday address to the press corps encapsulated the testy and wearying push-pull the two branches have been engaged in all year.
Bush also delivered a stern warning to Congress on the "11,900 earmarks" found in the omnibus spending bill sent to his desk yesterday.
"Congressional leaders ran in the last election on the promise they would curb earmarks," the president said. "I am instructing [White House] Budget Director Jim Nussle to review options for dealing with the wasteful spending in the omnibus bill." (CongressDaily has a report on the president's own earmarks here (subscription).
The returning Congress' first priority next year ought to be new FISA legislation, the president added. Strong disagreement between the two parties prompted Senate leaders to pull the pending bill from the floor on Tuesday.
"I hope the members of Congress enjoy their holiday break. I intend to enjoy mine. We have a great deal of work in the months ahead," Bush said, "but that does not relieve us of our responsibility to do business." Urging lawmakers not to become too distracted by next year's elections, Bush continued, "We need to carry the momentum of the past few weeks into next year."
Taking questions from White House reporters, Bush was more or less noncommittal on some of the more controversial issues being debated in Washington. He said he had not read Time magazine's profile of Russian President Vladimir Putin, its choice for "Person of the Year," and described his sometime-ally as "a consequential leader." Bush said he would take a wait-and-see approach on pending leadership changes there.
The president also said he would reserve judgment on whether the CIA illegally destroyed interrogation tapes until DOJ, the CIA's inspector general and congressional committees completed their investigations. "I know I'm going to be asked these questions a lot but I'm going to warn you.... I will be rendering no opinion from the podium," Bush said.
Ditto any questions regarding the 2008 presidential campaigns, a topic he has repeatedly said he wouldn't discuss until the nominating process was over.
As per usual, Bush was mostly upbeat on the two wars America is engaged in, and disputed the characterization of Iraq's government as "dysfunctional." He also seemed to acknowledge waning international support for operations in Afghanistan while brushing it off at the same time. "Our objective is to help people meet a mission they're comfortable with achieving, and convince them it's going to take... some time for the democratic experiment in Afghanistan to work."
Bush's harshest words were reserved for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"My patience ran out on President Assad a long time ago," he said, after being asked whether he would address Syria's role in the Lebanese political crisis during his trip to the Middle East next month. "If he's listening-- he doesn't need a phone call. He knows exactly what my position is: Syria needs to stay out of Lebanon."
Bush is making the first trip of his presidency to Israel and the Palestinian territories. He is also expected to stop in Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The president joked that his father, the 41st president, wouldn't be interested in being sent as a goodwill envoy by Hillary Rodham Clinton if she won the election next year. Bush wouldn't say what he himself would be doing after he steps down in 2009, but quipped, "I won't be the Opiner in Chief."
Posted at 12:18 PM
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Bush Administration, CIA, Campaigns, Congress, Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Iraq, Lebanon, Middle East, Military, President Bush, Russia, Syria, Vladimir Putin, WH 2008
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