Politico falsely reported Bush invited Dems to "negotiate" war spending bill

An April 10 Politico article regarding the standoff between President Bush and Congress over war funding reported that Bush "call[ed] on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid [D-NV] and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi [D-CA] to come to the White House next week to negotiate a 'clean bill' to pay for combat operations" in Iraq and Afghanistan but that Pelosi and Reid "rejected the offer." In fact, White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino clearly stated on April 10 that Bush did not offer to "negotiate." Speaking with reporters, Perino explained that Bush would invite Reid and Pelosi only to "discuss with him how they are going to be able to bring him a clean bill that he can sign." Perino added: "I will point out this is not a negotiation." Moreover, in a joint statement released on April 10, both Pelosi and Reid said that they are "willing to meet with the President at any time," but that they "believe that any discussion of an issue as critical as Iraq must be accomplished by conducting serious negotiations without any preconditions."

Similarly, on the April 10 edition of ABC's World News, host Charles Gibson reported that "Bush invited lawmakers to the White House next week to discuss" the war funding and that "the Democratic leadership said it will not attend." Gibson made no mention that Bush rejected negotiation and that Reid and Pelosi are "willing" to negotiate without preconditions. In addition, while an April 10 Wall Street Journal article (subscription required) on the standoff noted that "[t]he White House bluntly said the meeting wouldn't be a negotiation," the headline to the article misleadingly read: "Bush Invites Democrats to Discuss Impasse Over War Funding Bill."

The Politico article asserting that Bush invited Reid and Pelosi "to negotiate" the war funding bill was posted on Politico.com at 3:33 p.m. ET on April 10 and appeared on the front page of the April 11 print edition. From the article:

President Bush and Democratic congressional leaders raised the stakes in their political struggle over the war in Iraq Tuesday, with Bush calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to come to the White House next week to negotiate a "clean bill" to pay for combat operations for the remainder of the year. But they rejected the offer.

Following Perino's statement that "this is not a negotiation," Bush stated in an April 10 speech that his invitation to congressional Democrats to meet with him regarding the war funding bill would only involve a discussion on Congress' "progress" in passing a bill he wants lawmakers to pass:

BUSH: The United States Senate has come back from its spring recess today. The House will return next week. When it comes to funding our troops, we have no time to waste. It's time for them to get the job done. So I'm inviting congressional leaders from both parties -- both political parties -- to meet with me at the White House next week. At this meeting, the leaders in Congress can report on progress on getting an emergency spending bill to my desk. We can discuss the way forward on a bill that is a clean bill, a bill that funds our troops without artificial timetables for withdrawal, and without handcuffing our generals on the ground.

In a joint statement released that same day, Pelosi and Reid noted that "congressional Democrats have repeatedly reached out in the spirit of cooperation" while reiterating their desire to negotiate with the White House over the war spending bill but stated that they will only do so without "preconditions":

The American people want the President and the Congress to work together to bring a responsible end to the war in Iraq. Congressional Democrats are willing to meet with the President at any time, but we believe that any discussion of an issue as critical as Iraq must be accomplished by conducting serious negotiations without any preconditions. Our goal should be to produce an Iraq supplemental bill that both fully funds our troops and gives them a strategy for success.

With his threat to veto such a plan for change in Iraq, President Bush is ignoring the clear message of the American people: We must protect our troops, hold the Iraqi government accountable, rebuild our military, provide for our veterans and bring our troops home.

The President is demanding that we renew his blank check for a war without end. Despite the fact that the President persists in trying to score political points at the expense of our troops, congressional Democrats have repeatedly reached out in the spirit of cooperation. We renew our request to work with him to produce a bipartisan bill that provides our troops and our veterans with every penny they need, but in turn, demands accountability.

On the April 10 edition of ABC's World News, Gibson mischaracterized the debate by simply reporting that Bush had invited the Democratic leaders "to discuss the issue" and that they had decided not to attend. Gibson failed to mention that Reid and Pelosi refused Bush's invitation because of his preconditions for the discussion:

GIBSON: President Bush, today, accused the Democratic leadership in Congress of being irresponsible for passing war funding bills with timetables for troop withdrawals from Iraq. He has vowed to veto such a bill.

Mr. Bush invited lawmakers to the White House next week to discuss the issue. This afternoon, the Democratic leadership said it will not attend.