House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responds to George W. Bush’s oft-repeated claim that, by adopting a timetable for bringing the troops home from Iraq, Congress has substituted “the opinions of politicians” for the judgment of military commanders on the ground in Iraq:

“Wrong again, Mr. President. We are substituting our judgment for your judgment, 16 blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue in the White House. We are substituting the judgment of this Congress for your failed judgment. The American people have lost faith in the president’s conduct of the war. They have said they want accountability and a new direction — this bill gives them both.”

Pelosi’s words notwithstanding, Democrats were unable to come up with enough votes in the House today to overcome Bush’s veto of the “emergency” supplemental war funding bill. The vote was 222-203, which means that four more representatives voted to overturn Bush’s veto than voted for the measure in the first place.