Sorry, he had to wash his hair

Posted on July 28, 2005 by Gene

The media have reported that the president did not show at the Boy Scout Jamboree yesterday evening because of poor weather.
But I just read a report that makes me wonder if the White House wasn’t lying about that — after all, this White House is becoming known for bending the truth a bit.

“The House narrowly approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement this morning, delivering a hard-fought victory to President Bush while underscoring the nation’s deep divisions over trade. . . .

“Underscoring the importance that Bush attaches to the pact, he put his prestige on the line by making a rare appearance with Vice President Cheney at the weekly closed-door meeting of the House Republican Conference. Bush spoke for an hour, lawmakers said…

… The president’s unusual appearance on Capitol Hill, followed up with private telephone calls to wavering members, underscored his personal stake in the fight. More effective in the end-game maneuvering was deal-cutting by Bush aides and Republican leaders. Highway projects were dangled before undecided lawmakers, as well as assignments on top-shelf committees.”

In other words, if he had lost this vote, it would have been a sign of his political death on the Hill… so he ditched the Boy Scouts, who had just lost members of the Alaska delegation in a freak accident, to twist arms on Capitol Hill where even his 30-vote majority couldn’t get the job done.