[Will]

Senate has no veto power. The House and the Senate have to ratify the same Version of a bill, which is then sent to the President to either sign or veto. The House and Senate can over-ride the Presidential veto by 2/3rds vote (67 Senators, 290 Representatives).

My comments have nothing to do with the US economy. It's all about the Federal budget, which consists of those taxes not already set aside for Medicare and Social Security. I don't have a paycheck handy, but as I recall from my summer job, I would be paid about $480 a week, and usually $60 was deducted for income tax, $35 for Social Security, and a bit under $30 for Medicare. The amount taken depends on how you fill out tax forms, how much you make, etc. YMMV. The $35 and $30 are (technically) not supposed to be touched by Congress, but are repeatedly robbed anyway. The overall budget comes from the $60, which I think right now the Federal government is spending around $75 for every $60 it takes in. I have no official numbers in front of me, this is all ballpark figures.

Now, since this is not about the economy, it is my position that the President does indeed have huge control over the Federal budget. Especially since he has the power to veto any measures which excessively strain the budget... such as large spending programs (I've seen reports that spending has increased 8% per annum under Bush Jr, compared to about 3% for the previous four Presidents) and huge tax cuts. And true, these bills must go through Congress before being signed by the President, but both houses of Congress are held, and have been held, by the Republican Party. As a Republican and the President, Bush Jr. is the head of the Republican Party, which pretty much means... what he says, goes. Republicans can break rank and vote against these measures, but in the past decade, the Party leadership has been especially brutal to those who do this, and they are soon replaced by politicians who more easily fall into line. This is harder to do in the Senate, since they have longer (6 year) terms, but the Republican Party has found a way to deal with these mavericks as well. Exhibit A, the character assassination of John McCain, who will likely never be able to run for an office other than Senator of Arizona again.

Because of the structure of the Republican Party, the fact that Bush Jr. is the current head of the Party, and the fact that the Party controls both the Presidency and the Congress (and probably the Supreme Court within a few years), means that Republicans have almost unlimited control over the Federal budget. What used to be the fiscally responsible party is now putting to shame even the most ambitious of the Democratic Party's spending campaigns from the 40s onward. That translates to huge debt. Which, unless you're planning on being an unemployed high school student all your life (trust me, it seems like it's going to take a long time to end, but it ends up finishing FAST), you and I are going to be paying for. If there's any country left to pay for.

Oh, and as for his lawyers' fees... what do you think the Department of Justice is? Just one big law firm for the Executive Branch.