By Naftali Bendavid

President Bush and Democrats are about to escalate their battle over federal spending. It's not the most glamorous of subjects, but it's important not only to the country but also to Bush's attempts to re-define himself against the Democratic Congress and shore up his support among fiscal conservatives.

Bush recently blasted the Democrats for failing to pass a single 2008 spending bill more than one month into Fiscal Year 2008. And he is threatening to veto the spending bills if they unreasonably increase spending. Democrats "haven't seen a bill they could not solve without shoving a tax hike into it," Bush said.

Democrats scoff that Bush is suddenly posing as a fiscal conservative when it's convenient, noting that he did not veto a single spending bill during the six years Republicans controlled Congress even as federal spending skyrocketed.

As the battle begins in earnest this week with the passage of the the first spending bills, one of the Democrats' field generals is Rep. David Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, who spoke at the National Press Club today. Obey, a grizzled liberal warrior at 69 whose salt-and-pepper beard has long made him a recognizable figure on Capitol Hill, has served in Congress almost four decades.

Obey styles himself a progressive fighter in the tradition of Robert LaFolette, a hero of his home state of Wisconsin. Known for colorful pronouncements, Obey recently proposed a "war surtax" to support operations in Iraq; fellow Democrats instantly rejected the idea, and Obey says he was just trying to make a point. Obey also once criticized "idiot liberals" for not understanding the war funding process.

At the Press Club today, Obey blasted Bush for stirring up a "manufactured controversy" on the budget, saying the president's sudden professions of fiscal responsibility are an "unnecessary diversion" to bolster political support. The White House, Obey said, is showing no interest in compromise or discussion, and he mocked Bush for ostensibly saying "I'm the great decider" and that "it's got to be his way or the highway."

Spending billions on Iraq while shortchanging domestic priorities, Obey added, is "the wrong economic choice and the wrong moral choice." He accused Bush of "a greater course of fiscal irresponsibility than any president in history."

Democrats have been strategizing for weeks on how to respond to Bush's veto threats on the spending bills. For starters, this week they merged a labor and health bill with one paying for veterans affairs and military construction, making it harder for Bush to veto.

But ultimately, this conflict over government spending is likely to be resolved in much the same way as the last one, between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich: At some point the public will take sides, and either Bush or the Democrats will bend.