Contempt for Congress:

"The Bush administration has tended to treat Congress with an arrogance bordering on contempt. The latest illustration involves the report that the Medicare chief actuary was threatened with firing if he gave lawmakers his analysis of the likely costs of the new prescription drug legislation... Rather than straightforwardly acknowledging the difference and having an honest discussion about which analysis was more accurate, the administration preferred to stifle dissent and muscle the measure through Congress.

"Indeed, had the administration been more forthcoming, the bill probably would have failed: The House managed to pass it only after leaders delayed gaveling the vote to a close in order to engage in last-minute arm-twisting.

"When the administration finally was forced to acknowledge its far-higher estimate in January, officials acted surprised at the new price tag. 'This is really the first time that we've come up with a full and precise cost estimate because we were going through our budget processes,' said White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. Hogwash."