Deference Prevails Over Hostility

"In one respect, the veto plays to Mr. Bush's personal strengths, reinforcing the perception that he is someone who makes up his mind and sticks to it, ignoring the polls. But Democrats are determined to make the veto a central theme of their fall election campaigns, hooking it in with another hugely divisive medical issue -- the Terri Schiavo right-to-die case -- to argue that Republicans are beholden to the religious right. . . .

"The veto, and Congress' failure to override it, were landmark moments in Bush's presidency that testified to the extent and limits of his sway halfway through his second term. Republican defections on the issue underscored the weakening hold Bush has on his party.

"But a president in his final years still holds veto power, which allowed Bush with a stroke of a pen to leave a significant mark on American science and research ethics, shaping the flow of federal dollars that are a cornerstone of U.S. science."

Janet Hook writes in the Los Angeles Times: "The most remarkable thing about Bush's decision may not be that he vetoed this particular bill, as he had repeatedly threatened to do. More significant may be that it took so long in his presidency before he vetoed anything. . . .

"Many Republicans say Bush's extraordinarily long veto-free period is a tribute to how far the GOP-controlled Congress has gone to accommodate him -- authorizing the war in Iraq, giving him almost every tax cut he proposed, meeting his overall budget targets.

"But many conservatives, frustrated by the run-up in federal spending in recent years, say it also is a tribute to how unwilling Bush has been to confront Congress on its big-spending ways."

Here's Bush's veto message . Here's the text of the speech he delivered on the subject to an supportive crowd in the East Room, including several children born from frozen embryos.

Bush's announcement of the veto -- opposed by an overwhelming majority of the public -- was nevertheless literally greeted by hoots and hollers from the audience.

How does that play? On an issue where opposition is so widespread how does it come off for him to be surrounded solely by sycophants? Well, in this case, they'll probably just remember all those adorable kids.

Nedra Pickler writes for the Associated Press: "The White House sought to showcase the children rather than the veto itself, which Bush had signed out of sight of cameras and reporters. . . .

"One toddler sitting on stage kept lifting his baby blue blanket over his face and trying to play peak-a-boo with two men sitting in the front row -- White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and presidential adviser Karl Rove. . . .

"When Bush talked about the challenge to 'harness the power of science' without violating the dignity of human life, one child in the audience let out a scream."