"Bush Bars Media From Stem Cell Veto"
Today, President Bush will veto his first piece of legislation – a stem cell research bill that “could lead to treatments that save millions of lives and improve the quality-of-life for millions more.” Apparently, he’s not too proud of it. Moments ago at the White House press conference, Tony Snow announced that no press would be allowed at the signing:
SNOW: The president will, however, before he delivers remarks this afternoon, veto the Castle bill.
Here’s how it works, because I know a lot of you have had questions. There will be no photographers, no ceremony. What the president will do is, in his office, he will sign a veto message, he will hand it to a clerk, who will convey it to a clerk of the House, and then you go through the formalities of announcing a message from the president, and at some point the House will vote on the veto.
QUESTION: Is there a reason why he’s not having photographers in, at least?
SNOW: Because he doesn’t feel it’s appropriate. He’s signing a veto.
67 percent of Americans support embryonic stem cell research. The same percentage believes “It would be terrible if cures were delayed because of policies that make embryonic stem cell research difficult.”