Congress Overrides Bush's Veto on Water Resources Bill

Suck it, Bush:

President Bush suffered the first veto override of his seven-year-old presidency Thursday as the Senate enacted a $23 billion water resources bill despite his protest that it was filled with unnecessary projects.

The vote was 79-14 to pass the bill. Enactment was a foregone conclusion, but it still marked a milestone for a president who spent his first six years with a much friendlier Congress controlled by his Republican Party. Now he confronts a more hostile, Democratic-controlled legislature, and Thursday's vote showed that even many Republicans will defy him on spending matters dear to their political careers.

The bill funds hundreds of Army Corps of Engineers projects, such as dams, sewage plants and beach restoration, that are important to local communities and their representatives. It also includes money for the hurricane-hit Gulf Coast and for Florida Everglades restoration efforts.

Why would he veto something like that in the first place? It's because it follows either the conservative principle of "government should stay out of people's lives" or the conservative principle of "it funds the Army, not my rich, profiteering buddies."

I'm a little worried about how Bush will react. He'll make some speech about how he's disappointed with everyone who voted for the bill, but then he'll probably do something to reassert his deciderer power, which could mean very bad things. We've never seen his ego bruised in this way and who knows how he'll lash out.