Hell freezes over: Bush vetoes a bill!

Did Bush veto a budget-busting bloated spending bill? A horrible and unconstitutional "campaign finance reform" bill? A poorly conceived and written education bill (done by Teddy K, so by default, the bill sucks)? A massive entitlement drug program?

Nope. No sir, the first bill to earn Bush's veto was...federal funding for stem cell research. In an election year, the GOP decided to create a rift with their base by bringing this up now! Just freakin' brilliant, Elephants.

I addressed this issue last year (post here). Basically, my take was and is still as follows:

Regardless of the benefits (real OR imagined) from stem cell research, it is NOT the federal government's responsibility to fund the research. There are TONS of things that are not supposed to be funded by the feds that end up getting funded anyway. The more we can keep Congress from spending in an unconstitutional manner, the better off we'll be.

Also, ignore the MSM hype that Bush is banning stem cell research. He is doing no such thing. He is only banning further federal funding of it. To argue that Bush is banning stem cell research is either done out of willful deception or unadulterated ignorance.

So while Bush's reasons for vetoing the bill may be only slightly similar to reasons I wanted him to do it, the fact is he did the right thing...even if for a less-than-completely-right reason.

I'm still pissed that this is what he decides to use his first veto on, though.