[It's_GO_Time]

"WASHINGTON - President Bush vetoed legislation Wednesday that would have expanded government-provided health insurance for children, his second slap-down of a bipartisan effort in Congress to dramatically increase funding for the popular program."

Bush was quoted as saying:
Heck no! We can't spend more money on children health insurance. If their parent can't afford it, that is the child's bad for being born to loser parents. Yes, no kid gets left behind, but if they choose to get sick, then why should the government step in and help. We got more important things to deal with like bailing out adults of house mortgage they should have never enetered into. Also, there is this little thing called a war that, if sucessful, will not only rid Iraq of WMD but will also cure all childhood diseases so that kids don't even need health insurance. Expand government-provided health insurance for children . . . please, we aren't some pansy nation. And you can quote me on that . . . I can't run for re-election anayways."

[It's_GO_Time]

The last part of my original post was made up (obviously?) . . . but the top portion is true.

[Hector]

This was on Google News for a couple of days, but appeared at the very bottom, after many articles. Strange how the "computer-selected" order of articles placed this one where few would see it.

[Ed O]

A lot of people are opposed to expanding government services. Any Republican President in history would have vetoed this.

Ed O.

[It's_GO_Time]

Originally Posted by Ed O

A lot of people are opposed to expanding government services. Any Republican President in history would have vetoed this.

Ed O.

This is a bipartisan bill.



"Look, I disagree with the [White House] legislative staff on all of this," said Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), a key negotiator on the vetoed bill. "Frankly, I think the president has had pretty poor advice on this. I can answer every objection that they've made, and I'm very favorable to the president. I know he's compassionate. I know he's concerned about these kids, but he's been sold a bill of goods."

[It's_GO_Time]

Nothing to do with anything other than Ron Wyden is heavily invovled in this issue:

At Grassley's behest, Leavitt and White House economic adviser Allan Hubbard contacted Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who along with Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah) had been pushing a bipartisan measure to provide universal health coverage through private insurers. But in more than 20 phone calls and meetings, Wyden said, the White House was never willing to go beyond Bush's far more limited health-care tax proposals.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...T2007100301105