Below are excerpts from yesterday’s MoveOn.org Virtual Town Hall, regarding the presidential candidates’ view on what should happen after President’s Bush expected veto of the Iraq war supplemental bill.
From former Sen. John Edwards:
If Bush vetoes funding for the troops, he is the only one standing in the way of the resources they need. Nobody else.
Congress must stand firm. They must not write George Bush another blank check without a timeline for withdrawal. Period.
If Bush vetoes the funding bill, Congress should send another funding bill to him with a binding plan to bring the troops home. And if he vetoes it again, they should do it again.
From Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.:
I’m committed to putting as much pressure on the President and this war as possible in a responsible fashion, and I’m hopeful that the President is going to heed the advice of some of his own party, including Rudy Giuliani to reach an agreement with the Democrats.
But assuming that he vetoes the bill, I’m committed to finding the 67 votes we need to override this veto. I would support putting conditions on the next version of legislation if we can’t muster 67 votes.
And I’m also looking at options of giving the President a much shorter leash moving to appropriate enough money for 3 to 4 months at a time, during which we continue to build more Republican support for veto override.
