In remarks Feb. 26 before to the governors attending the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, President Bush asked for their help to ensure Congress keeps the 2008 budget “intact” and avoids the “temptation to take a little bit from the defense and add it to here.” He told them, too, that he is ready for a “healthy debate” over the decisions he has made regarding Iraq. “You’ve just got to understand,” explained Bush, is that there “will be chaos” if the US leaves before Iraq “can govern itself and sustain itself and defend itself.” Later that evening in addressing the Republican governors, Bush noted that his political agenda is “more Republican governors, take back control of the House and Senate, and make sure we keep the White House in 2008.”
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…