The arrogance of power

Or is it the power of arrogance?

So W has invited the leaders of Congress to sit down with him at the White House and discuss funding for the war. But he's made it clear that he won't negotiate over Congress' desire to limit the time that Americans are fighting and dying in Iraq. "We can discuss the way forward on a bill that is a clean bill; a bill that funds our troops without artificial timetables for withdrawal," the President said.

In other words, we can discuss how you're going to do what I want.

Will Democrats have the guts to decline the invitation, even if he sweetens it with an offer of lunch? Unfortunately, they probably won't, although Harry Reid did say, "The president is inviting us down to the White House with preconditions. That's not the way things should operate." When it comes right down to it, though, the leadership of House and Senate will prove too scared of how the right-wing claque would howl at such effrontery. Too bad, because the American people would understand.