how can Bush alone decide to veto a decision without any knowledge of the premises behind it?

Question

when the senate held a recent all-night session with regards to the Iraq war, it was reported circa nightly news that the president planned to veto the decision to begin pulling troops out of Iraq by April 2008. Although the measure fell short of the votes needed to pass, the president's decision to veto it should it pass was made even prior to the cessation of the meeting of the senate, which would ultimately mean that the president had decided that no matter what the senate said he would still veto the measure and that the all-night session was essentally nothing more than a mere joke, as it would do nothing to change the presiden't mind. My question is how could the president alone simply decide he was going to veto the measure without even LISTENING to the senate? Can you say autocracy?

Answer 1

I would ask the same question of the congress (both democrats and republicans): how can the senate vote for a bill without even reading it?

Recent polls have shown that few of our congressmen and women actually read the bills they vote for or vote down; they depend on staffers to tell them what's in the bills.

Answer 2

There is an important concept that is vital to the proper functioning of the Federal Government. That is know as the separation of powers. The Constitution allows Legislative Branch to declar war. All funding for that war comes from Congress.

The Constitution provides that the Executive Branch, the president shall be the Commander-in-Chief. There are 100 Senators and 435 Congressmen. There is only one Commander-in-Chief. Once the decision has been made to go to war, the Commander-in-Chief becomes the decision maker for all issues that involve the prosectution of that war.

Congress must vote to fund the war or not fund the war. That is all the Constitution allows. Congress has no right to vote on any particular policy, tactic or plan for the war. It is soley up to the Commander-in-chief.

That is why this president and any president would and should veto such bills regardless of the merit of that bill.

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Answer 3

OK, TAKE NOTES: 1) The all-night session of the Senate WAS A JOKE! It was a political show by the democratic chosen (Pelosi, Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Kennedy, etc.) The democrats KNEW they could not attain the necessary 60 votes to force the issue to a full floor vote, hence the entire process they used became a joke.

2) President Bush said that he "would veto, any legislation that had a mandatory troop withdrawal date associated with it" and since that is exactly what the Senate was trying to do (Begin to withdraw US forces by April of 2008, with a complete combat troop withdrawal to be completed in 120 days), the PRESIDENT LISTENED, DISAGREED AND TOLD THE SENATE AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT HE WOULD NOT SUPPORT ANY LEGISLATION WITH AN ARBITRARY WITHDRAWAL DATE. THE VETO, IS PART OF OUR CHECKS AND BALANCES IN GOVERNMENT.

3) The congress has the authority to OVER RIDE A PRESIDENTIAL VETO. All they have to do is get 2/3 of the House and Senate to agree. This is done to keep the power in congress to force the will of the people onto the President.

Answer 4

First, the Senate does not have the authority to tell the President to either send troops or remove troops from anywhere. The President alone is the Commander-in-Chief.

Second, the Senate wasn't presenting anything new so why shouldn't the President tell them in advance they are just wasting their time. The all-night session was a joke even to the Senate since a large share of the Senators did not attend. The early morning roll call showed there were only 60 Senators present. If this was so important, wouldn't they all want to be there to here before they voted.

Answer 5

You forget that Bush was elected and has the right to veto whatever he wants, no questions asked.

What you fail to realize is that a very large percentage of people don't support what Congress is trying to do, whether they like Bush or not. If the people were really behind it, the veto would be over-ridden.

Seems like Congress should do a better job promoting their legislation if it's any good, rather than trying to force it on everyone through by an overnight session. Any self-respecting president (Clinton, Carter, and Kennedy) would have done the same thing (regardless of what they would say now).

Answer 6

Actually, have you never seen American Politics in action? You act like President Bush is the first President ever to use the power of the veto!

He has made his mind up on the issue, the same as everyone who voted on it. Being in his position as President gives his vote more weight than that of a Senator. He merely stated his opinion and adviced that, if they brought it to him with an outcome other than what he wanted, he would exercise his power to veto.

Tell me this...do you wait until after the election to decide which candidate you prefer? Of course not! You weigh the issues and decide which way you are going to vote BEFORE the election. Same thing here. He made his decision known before the vote took place.

If the Senate chose to pull an all-nighter, fully aware of what the President planned to do, then THEY wasted their own (and the taxpayers) time...not the President.

Answer 7

Its called checks and balance. The senate has been trying to get this past for a while Bush said the first time he will veto it. He has that power, BUT his veto can be over riden. If congress could get enough votes they can over ride the Presidents Veto. That is why it is called checks and balance. I think it has to be a majority vote but its been too long since school to remember all the details.

Answer 8

Well...maybe for the same reason the Senate feels they can pull the troops out without any idea of what the conditions ore premises behind the situation in April will be. Didn't the same Senate decide that no matter what the President said, they were going to force the troops out by April 08?

Politics is ALWAYS 2 sides of the same coin.

Answer 9

by using fact it particularly is the potential granted the president as a form of exams and balances on the legislative branch by way of the form. He can veto whether a invoice is exceeded (domicile) 435-0 and (Senate) a hundred-0 and then the alternative might could be re-exceeded by way of the two residences of Congress by way of a 2 thirds margin. So interior the domicile by way of a vote of 290 or greater and interior the senate by way of a vote of sixty six or greater.

Answer 10

Haven't you got the memo?
Bush is the "Decider." He's the one and only all powerful president of these united states. He can decide whatever he wants to do, be it sign or veto laws, or even obey laws that he has inserted carefully worded signing statements into.

Remember Bush is the president, and if the president does something, it's not illegal. He doesn't have to obey the law, he IS the law!

Also remember that there is one thing that he cannot veto.
That's impeachment.
We need to keep impeachment on the table, as it is a cure for a constitutional crisis, when a president breaks the law, as has this one, several times.