As he signed legislation yesterday that will expand education benefits for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush lauded his administration and Sen. John McCain, among others, for their work on the bill even though both the White House and the presumed Republican nominee for president had opposed earlier versions of the measure.

The congratulatory remarks irked some political commentators, such as Keith Olbermann of MSNBC and Steve Benen who writes a blog called “The Carpetbagger Report.”

In an interview with Mr. Olbermann last night, Sen. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat and one of the leading advocates of the education benefits in the bill, mostly laughed off the president’s self-congratulatory remarks. However, Senator Webb (who some see as a potential running mate for Senator Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee for president) did say that neither Senator McCain nor President Bush “really did get on board” with the legislation until the very end.

The legislation will provide veterans who have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for at least three years with enough aid to attend the most expensive public institution in their state, plus a monthly stipend for housing costs. For veterans attending more-costly private colleges, the law will match, dollar for dollar, any aid that the institutions provide above the cost of the most expensive public college in the state.

Senator McCain and President Bush had opposed the education benefits proposed in the original version of the bill. They had voiced concerns about their cost and worried that providing the benefits after three years of service would discourage service members from re-enlisting.

Both Republicans said they would support the bill after a compromise was reached that added provisions allowing service members to transfer their educational benefits to their spouses and children. Service members could make such a transfer to their spouses only after having completed six years of service and committing to serving in the military for at least four more years. Benefits could be transferred to children only after a service member completed 10 years of service.