President Bush, as you probably know, says he's gonna veto any SCHIP expansion, the principle rationale being that government doesn't belong in health care. My hunch is that this won't carry the day. SCHIP's focus on kids is its trump card. But Bush is right that SCHIP is only the beginning of the policy fight over health care, and when the focus isn't on kids or some other sympathetic demographic group, the arguments being made today could win out by tapping into public distrust of government, which the Bush administration has deepened.

Several (well, 62 to be exact) of the 147 congresspeople who signed a letter promising to sustain every presidential spending bill veto are already wavering in their commitments. CQ has an interesting analysis ($) of the four FY 2008 House- approved appropriations bills that have drawn veto threats from the president. Sixty-two of the 147 congresspeople who have pledged to sustain a veto have voted for at least one of the measures. Four of 147 signatories have voted in favor of all four of the bills, while three have voted for three.

Yesterday evening, the House voted 276-140 to pass the $607 billion ($151.4 billion discretionary ) Labor-HHS-Education spending bill. The president expressed his dismay at raising the level of funding above 2005 levels for the following programs when he issued a veto threat on Tuesday:

• financial aid for college students
• the president's own No Child Left Behind education initiative
• medical research
• low-income heating assistance
• funding for children with disabilities
• health education

The Congressional Democratic leadership, no doubt exasperated over GOP holds blocking the lobbying and ethics bill from going to conference -- months after overwhelming passage by both houses -- now apparently plans to circumvent the bill's conference process entirely. Said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV): "I've done everything but get on my knees and beg for [a conference]."