No rest for the ridiculous:
Now in all fairness, we should thank President Bush. He did, this morning, sign the bill which contained the GI Bill update that we have all worked so hard for. Congratulations to all of you veterans. Make sure you use those benefits. You’ve earned them!
The signature, however, comes only after over a year of political maneuvering and arm twisting. I’d estimate that the President only signed it because he knew it was the only way this lame duck would get his war funding. Don’t be misled by The Decider’s rhetoric: he opposed this bill from the start. So did several other Senators. Notable on that list are three Veterans who have obviously forsaken their own: Senators Graham (R-SC), Burr (R-NC) and, you guessed it, McCain (R-AZ). This dubious gang of three actually tried to make an election year issue out a bill they introduced which was worse than the previously introduced Webb-Hagel G.I. Bill. That’s right. The man who wants to lead the free world was openly displaying what I like to call “leadership through regression”.
Which is why the President’s thank you list is curious to me. Of the five Senators Bush thanked, three of them opposed the GI Bill he signed into law today. McCain was not even present for the vote, refusing to put his name behind the principle he had previously championed: defeat of substantially increased education benefits for Veterans. In case you were wondering, the only other Senator to miss this vote is recovering from brain surgery.
H/t to ThinkProgres for the video.