Webb: Bush "blew It" On GI Bill

(The Politico)  Despite a brief outbreak of bipartisan comity on Monday morning, as President Bush signed a war funding bill, it was back to business as usual later in the day, as Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) said Bush “made a real bad mistake” in initially opposing an expansion of veterans’ education benefits included in the package.

Webb, the driving force behind the update to the Montgomery GI Bill, said both President Bush and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain never “really got on board” with the effort and only embraced the measure after it was clear there was overwhelming support for it in Congress.

In a ceremony at the White House Monday morning, Bush thanked Webb, McCain and other lawmakers who “worked hard” for the GI Bill expansion. However, McCain did not initially support Webb’s bill and pushed an alternative measure crafted with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.). 

Interviewed on MSNBC’s “Countdown,” Webb said Bush missed a golden opportunity to prove his military bona fides.

“I think George W. Bush made a real bad mistake in terms of our trying to show full respect for military service. I think he blew it,” Webb said on Monday night.

Webb also noted that Bush failed to thank Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), a Vietnam veteran who also worked hard on the bill, but has fallen out of favor at the White House after comments critical of the Iraq war.

(Hat tip to Think Progress, who has the video of the Webb interview here.)