W.H. deputy press secretary Tony Fratto has the negotiation skills of a frikkin' five year old.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Come onnnnnnnnnnnn...give us the MUN-eeeeeeeeeeeee...if you DO, I'l be your FRIEND...ohh, come ONNNNNNNNNN..."

:rofl:

Senate Blocks Iraq War Money

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20071116/us-iraq/



ANNE FLAHERTY | November 16, 2007 11:23 AM EST | AP

Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said this week that if Congress cannot pass legislation that ties war money to troop withdrawals, they would not send President Bush a bill this year.

Instead, they would revisit the issue upon returning in January, pushing the Pentagon to the brink of an accounting nightmare and deepening Democrats' conflict with the White House on the war. In the meantime, Democrats say, the Pentagon can eat into its $471 billion annual budget without being forced to take drastic steps. "The days of a free lunch are over," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

At the White House Friday, deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said: "DOD would have to eat into their annual budget and I believe that still presents difficulties in getting the troops in the field the resources they need to carry out their mission."

"We'd rather see the Department of Defense, the military planners and our troops focusing on military maneuvers, rather than accounting maneuvers as they carry out their mission in the field," Fratto said. "I think Congress should send this money, allow these troops to get the equipment they need. There is no reason why they should not get the money. This isn't like this is a last-minute effort and call for funding."

[gratuitous]

1. "No reason why they should not get the money"

Well, just do what 70% of the households in America do when faced with a lean pay period, Tony. Do you really need all those independent contractors shooting up neighborhoods and civilians? How about calling a halt to new weapons development contracts? Right now we seem to be contending with unsophisticated, improvised devices. Do we really need the F-25 (or whatever number we're up to now) fighter jet to counter homemade bombs?

Check under the sofa cushions. George might have dropped a little coin during his search for those ol' debbil weapons of mass destraction. Or ask some of George's overrich friends to pony up a little scratch. ExxonMobil seemed to have a good year last year. Maybe they could float you a little loan to tide you over until the Republicans re-take control of Congress and start issuing those blank checks again.

I'd advise holding your breath for that development.