Political exchange

Just a quick transcript from All Things Considered today on NPR

President Bush (proposing a meeting with legislators) “At this meeting, the leaders in Congress can report on progress on getting an emergency spending bill to my desk. We can discuss the way forward on a bill that is a clean bill – a bill that funds our troops without artificial timetables for withdrawal and without handcuffing our generals on the ground.” {you'll have to visit NPR and listen yourself to appreciate the smug tone of Bush - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9501403}

The report continues... Democrats wasted little time turning down the President’s invite

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid's response - “The president is inviting us down to the White House with preconditions – that’s not the way that things should operate. The president is now having to deal with a Congress – he has never had to do that before.”
“I’ve settled lots and lots of cases – but you never settle a case going in saying ‘you can come and meet with me but here is what the result’s going to be before we meet’ – that doesn’t work. The president has to realize it doesn’t work in the practice of law, it doesn’t work in the business world, and it doesn’t work in government.”