USNews: Bush will blame Dems if bill stalemate forces a government shutdown

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/politics/2007/11/16/back-to-gop-basics.html

Another big part of Bush's endgame is to take a harder line than ever with the Democratic majority in Congress as he tries to frame the 2008 election. Not only is he using his veto power to force cuts in domestic spending; he is demanding more money for the Iraq war and is threatening civilian layoffs at U.S. military bases to keep money flowing to the battlefield if Congress doesn't act. White House advisers are confident that if he can depict the Democrats as "tax and spend liberals" who are weak on defense, he will lift his job-approval ratings and perhaps help the Republican Party regain its reputation for fiscal discipline and for maintaining a strong military.

But the Democrats are developing a plan to outfox him. Capitol Hill strategists say they will soon stop sending Bush bills that he will veto because they finally realize they lack enough votes to override him. Instead, Democratic leaders seem inclined to combine a variety of spending bills into a single omnibus measure. That would come after Bush's State of the Union message in January, a speech which Democratic leaders and some Republicans believe will be a "ho-hum" moment that will cause more voters to tune him out. White House officials say if the Democrats send Bush a massive bill that he opposes, he will veto it and blame his opponents if the stalemate forces a government shutdown