Daschle can surely arrange that the hearings are still on-going at the time Congress adjourns on October 11. That way the Dems don't have to go on record with a vote, but can still say that they are carefully debating this serious matter. No Daschle can't. Bush would rip the Democrats to shreds if they tried to delay a vote. And he'd just call Congress back into special session, which would prevent everybody from campaigning in the critical weeks before the election and would focus the whole country's attention on the Democrat's obstructionism. Bush has the Dems between a rock and a hard place, especially since they were the ones most demanding Congressional involvement.
hutch and dpwiener are right. GWB has Daschle by the short hairs on this. They can't leave out town without a full public debate and vote and Daschle knows it. Political suicide for the RATS... let's hope they stupidly try it.