If you don't sign the bill I want, you may not have a country left to come back to at the end of your recess, Democrats! Obama, I mean Osama has been waiting for an opening like this!

A bill he "can sign"? Is there some reason he can't sign it? Is his pen broken?

I understand the rhetorical technique, but the press needs to call him on this stuff, if not directly then in a correction that follows. The best method, though, is simply to paraphrase what he means.

"So far the Democrats in Congress have not drafted a bill I can sign" should be trashed and instead it should read: Bush says the the Democrats in Congress have not drafted a bill that suits his agenda.

Hey, Dubbya! What's the old saying? "Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."
This bill requires intense scrutiny and serious debate. Trying to shove it through in the final hours before Congress leaves on break is bull crap. Now we'll all get to hear Bushco blame the Democrats for political partisanship and being uncooperative with the White House.

"So far the Democrats in Congress have not drafted a bill that my boss Dick Cheyney will let my sign," Bush said.

No more typical Rovian strategy than this one. The administration's ass is hanging out the window with "impeachable FISA violations" branded on it.

Let's see then. FISA violations are our greatest political liability at this moment? OK, then, take FISA inside, recast it into the form of a nice, sharp weapon, and launch it back at the Democrats! FISA is inadequate and it's all your fault! (So, of course, who could blame the administration for a little wiggle to get around the law in the first place?) Put your pants back on, Karl. We've seen this trick before.

The more I think about Bush's arrogance, the madder I get. Hurricane Katrina didn't stop him from going on vacation. WTF???

Moondancer, get used to more of his arrogance. When he's on the ropes, he only becomes more agitated and bullying. From Vanity Fair's Gail Sheehy, October 2000:

"Another fast friend, Roland Betts, acknowledges that it is the same in tennis. In November 1992, Bush and Betts were in Santa Fe to host a dinner party, but they had just enough time for one set of doubles. The former Yale classmates were on opposite sides of the net. 'There was only one problem—my side won the first set,' recalls Betts. 'O.K., then we're going two out of three,' Bush decreed. Bush's side takes the next set. But Betts's side is winning the third set when it starts to snow. Hard, fat flakes. The catering truck pulls up. But Bush won't let anybody quit. 'He's pissed. George runs his mouth constantly,' says Betts indulgently. 'He's making fun of your last shot, mocking you, needling you, goading you—he never shuts up!' They continued to play tennis through a driving snowstorm."

I'm a little curious about when this FISA judge made the ruling that the Bushies had to respect our civil liberties. If it was last week, that's one thing. If it was, oh, two months ago and they waited until the week Congress is supposed to leave on its summer recess, then that's not playing fair, is it? Not they ever... you know.

It's easy for me to say, since I'm not in Congress, but I wouldn't give those bastards in the White House anything but subpoenaes until they begin to understand that there's more than one branch of government.

I think it's pretty obvious that they're just trying to run out the clock. 2009 would be fine, but they have to be thinking 2008 will be fine, because at that point everything really will be political.

Here's something from the Boston Globe: The judge issued a classified order that allowed the NSA’s surveillance to continue under the court’s oversight. But several months later, another judge on the court decided that the order was illegal. That months-old ruling, which prompted the current debate, was disclosed this week by House minority leader John Boehner during an interview on Fox News.

So, the ruling is months old, but right this very damn minute the Congress has to jump in and do the White House bidding? How many bamboozlements will it take?

Hmm. Is it just me, or does it appear that King George is trying to make it look like it was >his< idea to keep the Congress in session. I mean, if you are going to try to take the credit for preventing AG AG from having an interim replacement, the President might as well steal the credit...