By Charles Babington, washingtonpost.com staff writer, Monday, April 30, 2001; 1:44 PM

Who could turn down a lunch invitation at the White House? Well, today it seems nearly 340 members of Congress did, as President Bush got a modest turnout after inviting all House and Senate members to help him celebrate his first 100 days in office.

The White House said 193 lawmakers showed up, out of 532 invited (the House has three vacant seats). Of those, fewer than 50 were Democrats. Bush says greater bipartisanship is one of his chief goals, but Democratic leaders say his claim is mostly hollow, and few were in the mood to break bread at today's luncheon.

Still, the president and his aides called today's event a success. With Congress generally following a Tuesday through Thursday schedule, most House members and many senators spend Monday mornings in their home states. No one expected all those lawmakers to change their schedules, White House aides said today.

Democratic leaders weren't the only ones missing. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) also skipped the luncheon.

In brief remarks in the Rose Garden, the president made no mention of the absentees, but praised Congress's cooperative spirit.

"I know we always don't agree," he said, "but we're beginning to get a spirit here in Washington where we are more agreeable; where we're setting a different tone, so when the good folks of this country look at our nation's capital, they see something they can be proud of."

Absent today were Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle and House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.). In an interview Sunday with CBS's "Face the Nation," Gephardt said Bush's talk of bipartisanship amounts to little.

"The civility is back, and that's good," Gephardt said. "But there's a lot more than civility that's needed to get to the bipartisan, consensual solutions that the president said he wanted and I think the country needs. We don't talk, we don't negotiate, we don't really collaborate and work together on these policies. It's really been more of the same: 'My way or the highway.'"

Democrats attending today's White House lunch, the Associated Press reported, included Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Dianne Feinstein of California, Bob Graham of Florida, Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, and House members Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii and Ken Bentsen of Texas. Leading the Republicans was Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi.

What Did He Say?

To-May-to, to-Mah-to, herself, their self. Which did Bush say?

Some Political Insider fans have written to complain that The Washington Post and other media apparently cleaned up the president's grammar in a much-discussed TV interview that aired last Wednesday. They contend that Bush, responding to Charlie Gibson of ABC's "Good Morning America," said the United States would do "whatever it took to help Taiwan defend their self."

Most news organizations, including the Post, reported the quote as, "whatever it took to help Taiwan defend herself." And they are correct.

ABC News inadvertently contributed to the confusion by issuing a transcript of the interview rendering the quote as "their self." At least one Associated Press version of the important news story also included "their self."

But other professional transcript services, such as Burrelle's Information Services, transcribed the quote as "herself." The Post and many other print media rely on such services, and most newspapers used the "herself" line. Even ABCNews.com, in writing about the Gibson interview, quoted Bush as saying "herself," rather than "their self." Both the news article and the ABC News transcript that contradicted it remained on the network's website earlier today.

The Political Insider and a colleague listened to the audio version of the interview, which remains on ABC's Web site. They agreed that the president clearly says "whatever it took to help Taiwan defend herself."

-- Anonymous, April 30, 2001