Thursday, December 21, 2006

Bush gets with a Democratic program

Potentially lost in the shuffle of Bush's two rounds of rare public comment on Iraq in the last 72 hours, Bush lent support yesterday -- with a string attached -- to a key element of the Democratic congress' plan of action on the home front. He gave his first clear public endorsement of a program to raise the minimum wage by $2.10 over the next two years, a significant hike in percentage terms from $5.15 to $7.25 -- not a favorite move of the GOP, generally speaking.

Perhaps this was a simple acknowledgment that his low approval rating probably wouldn't withstand a veto of such a measure early next year, but nevertheless it's interesting. If nothing else, it's probably a sign that Bush is ready or forced to swallow a bitter pill or two at this point. It's worth noting, though, that Bush's caveat is not insignificant. He wants the wage hike attached to specific small-business tax breaks so that those businesses hurt by the hike have the means to recover their losses. Sounds reasonable as a compromise, but it was enough to make Sen. Kennedy, for one, grumble about obstacles.

Posted by Evan Hughes at 11:37 AM

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