President Bush declined on Wednesday an invitations sent by Democrats to meet with them on Capitol Hill on Friday, with his spokeswoman saying he looks forward to a meeting already set for next week.White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino said she hoped that the tone of the invitation from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats "is not indicative of how the Democrats plan to so-called 'work together' to address" the dispute over attaching a timetable for withdrawal to any troop funding.
Democrats sent a letter to Bush earlier in the day asking him to come up to Capitol Hill after they rejected what they say are "preconditions" on the White House meeting set to discuss stalled legislation that would fund American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Democratic Sens. Harry Reid, Richard Durbin, Chuck Schumer and Patty Murray urged Bush to meet with them to "work together to produce legislation that both fully funds the troops and provides them a real strategy for success."
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