Abramoff had to spend millions to own Congress. Bush thinks they're a much cheaper date. He's just pretending he likes them by serving iced tea and lemonade:
But courting lawmakers only goes so far in bridging serious policy and political differences, and it is hard to find evidence that Mr. Bush's new open-ear policy has led to any substantive change in direction by the White House.
The administration has also stumbled frequently in its intensified efforts to reach out to Congress, raising questions about how much it has accomplished in mollifying Republican lawmakers, some of whom are heading into re-election campaigns concerned that Mr. Bush could be a political liability.
