While the battle plays out at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, it also rages on the GOP campaign trail. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called on Bush to “eliminate as many of these earmarks as possible.”

Romney’s statement came a few days after rival Rudy Giuliani released an ad condemning earmarks. “The Democrats talked about doing away with earmarks,” Giuliani said in the commercial. “They’re now doing as many, if not more, earmarks as the Republicans did. Let’s actually do away with them.”

When asked if he would issue an executive order as president, Mike Huckabee put it this way: “I think some of them ought to be vetoed. If they can’t be vetoed, then ignore them.” Huckabee also vowed to increase transparency. “A lot of things would change if we knew exactly how the money was spent,” he said.

This issue is nothing new for Sen. John McCain, who has railed against pork-barrel projects for years. In a statement on the Senate floor, McCain chided his colleagues for rushing to “issue press releases … about how much pork we have been able to get for our states and districts.” He then bluntly asked, “How can we, in good conscience, defend this behavior to the American people?”

The truth is that politicians can’t defend this behavior any longer. Year after year, taxpayers have heard multitudes from both sides of the aisle talk a good game of fiscal responsibility and then watched as most fled the field at every opportunity to block excessive spending.

Now, all eyes are on the president. This month’s events give Bush a new opportunity to send a strong message. He should use it to bring accountability to the appropriations process.