Bush Will Sign Campaign Finance Bill

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) said on Sunday he would sign landmark campaign finance reform legislation with only a slight hesitation, reflecting his ongoing concerns about the measure.

The legislation to reduce the influence of money in politics won final congressional approval last week, and Bush has pledged to sign it soon.

The bill would ban unlimited contributions known as "soft money" to national political parties, limit such donations to state and local parties and restrict broadcast ads by outside groups shortly before elections.

Former independent counsel Kenneth Starr, whose investigation of Bill Clinton's sex life resulted in the president's impeachment in 1998, is to lead a legal challenge that will seek to knock down most of the measure as unconstitutional.

Bush said he felt the campaign bill did not fully address the need to require identification of who is funding so-called independent groups that introduce "scurrilous, untrue" television advertisements in the last days of a campaign, as he said happened to him in his 2000 presidential campaign.

"I've always thought that people who pump money into the political system, we ought to know who they are," he said.

Bush said that nonetheless the "bill is a better bill than the current system," but that some parts of it might not stand up to a court challenge.

If you can't understand that what happened on 9/11 is more of a danger than some law being signed it is you who is simplistic and out of touch with the real world. Pardon my err, friend. I did not mean to imply you were simplistic, just your response. Since you repeated it, I'll elaborate. If the loss of this country is the stated problem , that we can agree on. What I see simplistic in your remarks, there is no difference in the threat. War's aren't fought and won on one front. A sly enemy will get your attention on one front and attempt to gain entry on your rear while you're busy gawking. An enemy isn't always in your face. Sometimes the pen "is" (there's that word) more powerful than the sword. That's a dose of the real world. Blackbird.

You know, I am not a Biblical scholar by any stretch of the imagination, but I seem to recall an admonition warning about placing faith in men and man's institutions. Perhaps, we, after 8 arduous years with the X42, set "our" expectations a bit high. I do agree with your assessment concerning the back of the Book and must keep reminding myself that it is a vastly greater promise than any political candidates' promises.

I have and still wish to continue to believe that Mr. Bush is an principled man of honor and integrity. And I do believe in the "first stone" philosophy. That being said, I still have a hard time understanding this action of his, pertaining to FR.

Naw, now I am attempting to equivocate, from a desire to get beyond questioning the "scheme" of the GOP power brokers. I think I will stick by my previous remarks, but with a view that there is a greater and higher Power out there that never lets us down. I can't think of a better fall back position and if I placed myself in that position prior to displaying anger things would be so much easier in both the short and long run.

Thanks for the exchange. It is also easier on the soul to visit with those with whom one shares a common vision than to debate with those who don't.

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