Monday, April 30, 2007

Wherein that word does not mean what you think it means

The news headline reads: "President Bush indicates willingness to work with Democrats on Iraq." And I think to myself, hot dog, the man has finally come around. No more stubbornness! No more threats to veto. And then I read the article, and I think, oh, not so much:

Bush said that once he vetoes the bill, he's ready to work with Democrats on a new version that provides funds without strings attached.

Ah. So, "work with Democrats" apparently translates to "will veto their bill and then insist on them giving him exactly the bill he wants." Where in that do we deduce that he wants to "work with Democrats"? Come on! Is it too much to ask that the grand wizards who write the headlines and the grand wizards who write the copy occasionally talk with each other and get the stories straight?