Editorial: Showing a stubborn streak

Friday, Jan. 5, 2007 | 7:13 a.m.

P resident Bush spoke from both sides of his mouth Wednesday. He promised to work with the new Democratic leadership while stubbornly declaring that he will continue to push his domestic agenda and war policies.

On Wednesday, in a White House address and in a commentary that he wrote for The Wall Street Journal, Bush made it clear that he hopes to make tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent - cuts that Bush championed and that Democrats opposed. Bush also said that he plans to build consensus "to fight and win the war" in Iraq. The fact that his administration doesn't know what winning would look like apparently doesn't matter.

Bush says he has changed, but, clearly, he hasn't. The contrition that Bush ostensibly showed immediately following the November election has been replaced with the hard-headed approach we've come to expect from him. Bush remains out of step with Americans who made it clear in November's elections that they reject his failed policies, particularly regarding the Iraq war.

In The Wall Street Journal commentary, Bush told Democrats that their majority is narrow and that Republicans still have "a strong say" in how bills will be written. He emphasized that, ultimately, he is the one who decides whether to sign measures into law. The president has used his veto power only once in six years - to reject stem cell research that a vast majority of the public supports.

The manner in which he spoke of his using veto power Wednesday was a not-so-veiled threat. It is hard to believe that the president is willing to find common ground on any issue of importance.

Unless the president is willing to make some concessions, it will be difficult for Congress to accomplish anything of significance over the next two years. And Americans - who need solid, long-term solutions to such challenges as health care costs, immigration and Social Security reforms - will be the ones who suffer if Bush can't somehow stop his stubbornness.