21.   The president also acted on several foreign-affairs matters.

22.   The president must act within five days of signing a bill, and Congress can override a line-item veto with a two-thirds vote.

23.   The president acts like an undisciplined teen-ager.

24.   The shutdown created a battle between security and economics, with Virginia lawmakers threatening to push through legislation to force the airport open if the president did not act.

25.   The White House said the president was acting on principle, not politics.

26.   When he first made the offer, she tepidly endorsed it, and Republicans charged that the president had acted to curry support for his wife with Hispanic voters.

27.   Why is such a young president acting so atavistic?

28.   At the same time, the Senate is very much in charge now and the president cannot act freely on such matters without prior congressional approval, he added.

29.   Bush chief of staff Andrew Card said the president acted because he wants to protect travelers from service disruptions as the busy summer travel season approaches.

30.   Congressional critics were upset with the way the president has acted single-handedly.