The fact that he promises to is enough for me. We apparently have a domestic rubber-stamp who won't stand up to anything that comes from Congress.
Personally, I worked my butt off to help him get elected so that, in part, these moronic bills could be stopped. I didn't do it so that I would have to work my butt off all over again to prevent Congress from sending him those bills in the first place because he is too gutless to stand up and do the right thing.
The fact that he promises to is enough for me. We apparently have a domestic rubber-stamp who won't stand up to anything that comes from Congress.
Early in the campaign, Bush was doing those appearances where a handful of people would be permitted "60-second interviews" with the candidate - basically you got one question, so choose a good one. An acquaintance of mine had the opportunity to ask a question, so he asked about the Assault Weapons Ban renewal.
Bush responded that he knew it would cost him many votes if he signed it, especially so close to the 2004 elections. He also said that there should be no reason for that legislation to ever reach his desk. He then stressed how important it was for the voters to strengthen the Republican Congress.
All of the above was reported online, over at the subguns.com message boards (the interviewer was a frequent poster there). Now, as I said, that was early in the campaign. Later, Bush did make other comments that were supportive of the ban (or opposed to its repeal, not quite the same thing as letting it die as written). So, we are left to wonder how much of what the man says is urged by his advisors or intended for the ears of squishy moderates and soccer moms.
He knows the risks. For now, we should be focused on Congress, because despite the fact that the voters gave Bush a Republican majority in both houses, they may well try to deal with this very soon rather than leave it to sunset just weeks before the election.