Bush Veto On Children's Health Care May Be Further Sagging Any Support

A new poll by Rasmussen puts the job approval for President Bush at a mere 35%, a four point decline over the last few days since his veto of the tobacco tax to help fund a $7 billion dollar a year expansion of children's health care, the SCHIP program. Another Rasmussen poll puts 57% of the public opposed to the Bush veto and another 54% majority of Americans are in support of raising tobacco taxes to fund children's health care.

The Bush veto was more likely a huge political payoff to Philip Morris and other large tobacco lobby contibutions to the 2004 Bush campaign and his inaugural committee. Philip Morris gave Bush about $39,000 in his 2004 run against Democrat John Kerry and then made an additional gift of nearly $250,000 to his inauguration planning committee, not to mention numerous large donations to other Republicans seeking office and the national party organization.

It's simply "cigarette smoke" and mirrors for Bush to hide behind any nonsensical claims that he is opposed to expanding children's health care on philosophical grounds. He's simply opposed to getting tough on tobacco like anyone concerned about the public health should be, and merely a stooge for his big tobacco donors.