Defying President Bush [yeah right], Reps. Duncan Hunter and James Sensenbrenner — who led opposition dooming legislation based on the Sept. 11 commission's recommendations — said they won't change their minds without Senate concessions.

"It'll be tougher now because the well got even more poisoned by the senators and their supporters thoroughly criticizing Duncan Hunter and myself by name on the talking head shows yesterday," Sensenbrenner told The Associated Press on Monday.

The two men turned back a last-second deal Saturday to pass stalled legislation to create a new national intelligence director and national counterterrorism center. The overhaul was supposed to help the intelligence community track terrorist threats and was one of the biggest legislative priorities of this year.

There was nothing left but recriminations on Monday, with most of Congress heading home for Thanksgiving and Bush still on an overseas trip. No meetings of the bill's negotiators have been planned.

The House and Senate scheduled Dec. 6-7 meetings just in case a deal is reached.

Link.

If Bush wanted this done, it would be done. It's that simple. The fact is that he is just using these wingers in the House to help him block the measure without needing to get into the fray... without having to face the political ramifications of blocking intelligence reform.

Make no mistake--Bush is the reason why we haven't fixed our intelligence system.