Bush's Veto Survives House Challenge

President Bush speaks to the Associated General Contractors of America meeting in Washington, Wednesday, May 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) (Ron Edmonds - AP)

While Pelosi and other Democrats took turns criticizing Bush, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader, said that terrorists had made Iraq the central focus of their war against the United States.

"If we're not going to stand up to them in Iraq, we're not going to take them on in Iraq and defeat them there, where and when will we do it?" he asked.

The day's developments unfolded as the fourth of five brigades ordered into the war zone in January poured into Baghdad. Bush decided on the increased deployment as part of an attempt to quell sectarian violence.

It was only the second time in 6 1/2 years he has rejected a bill sent to him. In his formal veto message, he wrote that "the micromanagement in this legislation is unacceptable."

He also called the original bill unconstitutional for directing war operations "in a way that infringes upon the powers vested in the presidency."

Outside the White House, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid bristled at that claim. "We are not going to be submitting our legislation to somebody at one of the law schools to look for its constitutionality. We have an obligation, under the terms of the Constitution, to legislate," he said. "That's our job."

The main sticking point concerned the Democratic demand for a troop withdrawal timeline. Under the vetoed measure, the withdrawal would have begun no later than Oct. 1, with a goal of completion six months later.

It seemed unlikely Democrats would try the same approach a second time.

Instead, there was talk of establishing standards for the Iraq government to meet, such as enacting legislation to share oil resources, holding provincial elections and spending $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction.

"Benchmarks are important, but they have to have teeth in order to be effective," Pelosi said.

Whatever the ultimate outcome, Democrats said they were eager to proceed quickly.

"We're not going to leave our troops in harm's way ... without the resources they need," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland. He said he hopes to have a replacement measure ready for a vote within two weeks.

Bush has said the funds are needed quickly to prevent serious disruptions in military activities. Officials said White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten would meet with Reid and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Thursday.

The House vote and subsequent White House meeting occurred in a political environment of increasing complexity.

While the Democratic leadership in Congress signaled it was ready to make concessions, at least one of the party's presidential hopefuls called for a more confrontational approach.

"We've got a few days _ maybe less _ to do absolutely everything we can to ensure this Congress responds to Bush's veto by sending another binding plan to end the war," former Sen. John Edwards wrote in a fundraising appeal on his Web site.

Assuming they jettison the withdrawal timetable, Democrats could face significant defections on the next legislation. That, in turn, would give Republicans in the House and Senate more leverage.