George W. Bush, who went longer than any president since Thomas Jefferson before using his veto power, may wield that authority next year to help re-establish Republicans' reputation for fiscal discipline and unify the party's political base. Republican leaders are encouraging Bush, who is facing a hostile Congress for the first time in his presidency, to oppose Democratic spending plans. They also want him to threaten vetoes over legislation that would order Medicare to negotiate drug discounts with pharmaceutical makers, rescind energy-industry tax incentives and promote stem-cell research. "We're going to end up with bills that we're not going to like," said Candida Wolff, 42, Bush's assistant for legislative affairs. "The strongest tool we have is the veto threat."
In the past, the president "could count on congressional Republicans to stop most measures that he disliked," said John Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California. "Now he can count on the Democrats to send him bills that he does not want."
| Well, if he set a modern record for not using it in the first 6 years, he might as well go for the record for using it in his last two. |