We had a very popular
live-blog of the Presidential Press Conference today. Well, the
transcript is now up, so I though I would post some of the transcribed highlights for everyone's enjoyment.
Lots below.
First, I have to, HAVE TO, post his Foghorn Leghorn moment. It is the question and reply to when he was asked about how we only have 1 active duty Iraqi battalion ready in Iraq.
John.
Q Mr. President, thank you, sir. A couple of weeks ago, you stood here in the Rose Garden with Generals Abizaid and Casey, and you cited the accomplishments regarding the standing up of Iraqi troops there; you said that there were 12 battalions that were working out of Fallujah and the western part, 20 in Baghdad, 100 across the nation. And then that afternoon, Abizaid and Casey went up to Capitol Hill, and said, well, there's one battle-ready battalion, which led some Republican senators to say, well, the situation is getting worse. So the question is, sir, it appears between what you said and what they said, something is not adding up here.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, what is happening in Iraq is the following: More and more Iraqis are able to take the fight to the enemy. And that's important to achieve our goal. And the goal is for a stable, democratic Iraq that is an ally in the war on terror.
Right now there are over 80 army battalions fighting alongside coalition troops. Over 30 Iraqi -- I say, army battalions -- Iraqi army battalions. There are over 30 Iraqi battalions in the lead. And that is substantial progress from the way the world was a year ago.
I wonder what he means by 'in the lead.'
Next question is by Terry, asking him why he's spent more than LBJ
Q Mr. President, you presided over the largest increase in the size, the power and the cost of the federal government since Lyndon Baines Johnson. A lot of your supporters are wondering what's so conservative about that? And can you answer them, and tell the American people, given the budget deficit, the cost of the war, the cost of Katrina, specifically -- by naming a specific program or revenue measure -- how you're going to pay for all this?
THE PRESIDENT: First, let me remind people that we are at war. And I have pledged to the American people -- and, more importantly, the troops and their families -- we'll make sure they have what it takes to succeed.
Secondly, when it comes to discretionary spending, non-security discretionary spending, the budget I submitted to the United States Congress actually reduces non-discretionary -- discretionary -- non-security spending. And as a matter of fact, if you look at the trend line for non-security discretionary spending, I think it was 6 percent when I first was elected, it's down to negative now.
Negative how much? And is the transportation bill discretionary spending? I don't think that's negative from what it was. How about the energy bill?
The very next question (yeah, I know I chose three in a row) is my favorite.
Q Are you still a conservative?
THE PRESIDENT: Am I what?
Q Still a conservative?
THE PRESIDENT: Am I still a conservative? Proudly so. Proudly so.
True, this was as soft-ball as they come, but it was still hilarious that it was even brought up.
Farther down, President Bush gets asked about avian influenza. It is probably the tanswer in the whole press conference. He mentions reading a book, and then immediately talks about military enforced quarantine.
Q Mr. President, you've been thinking a lot about pandemic flu and the risks in the United States if that should occur. I was wondering, Secretary Leavitt has said that first responders in the states and local governments are not prepared for something like that. To what extent are you concerned about that after Katrina and Rita? And is that one of the reasons you're interested in the idea of using defense assets to respond to something as broad and long-lasting as a flu might be?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Thank you for the question. I am concerned about avian flu. I am concerned about what an avian flu outbreak could mean for the United States and the world. I am -- I have thought through the scenarios of what an avian flu outbreak could mean. I tried to get a better handle on what the decision-making process would be by reading Mr. Barry's book on the influenza outbreak in 1918. I would recommend it.
The policy decisions for a President in dealing with an avian flu outbreak are difficult. One example: If we had an outbreak somewhere in the United States, do we not then quarantine that part of the country, and how do you then enforce a quarantine? When -- it's one thing to shut down airplanes; it's another thing to prevent people from coming in to get exposed to the avian flu. And who best to be able to effect a quarantine? One option is the use of a military that's able to plan and move.
It was pointed out in the live-blog that a quarantine would be completely ineffective at preventing the spread of infected birds.
The President also distanced himself from Tom Delay (and other members of Congress) when asked about gifts from lobbyists by Holly.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. As you know, ethics has been the hot topic here in Washington. I wonder, as a matter of principle, do you believe that it is ever okay for a member of your administration, or a member of Congress, to accept free gifts or travel from lobbyists?
THE PRESIDENT: Let me answer your question this way: It's not acceptable for any member of my administration to break the law. And I presume free gifts from lobbyists break the law. And there's all kind of reporting requirements, and I expect my people to adhere to the -- people that work here to adhere to the -- to what's expected of them.
Note that he only answered about his administration, but the implied message is clear: "Tom Delay, you're on your own."
Another good question was from Ed, who asked the President how much political capital he had left.
The third paragraph of his reply has what is probably the most confusing correlation uttered by the President in at least several days: Refineries and the USA PATRIOT Act.
Q Good morning, Mr. President. Sir, you've talked about a lot of priorities you still would like to see enacted. But Congress is now facing its own elections and reelections a year from now; you're not. To what extent is this divergence of interests -- how does that scramble your agenda? And I guess I'm asking, how much political capital have you got left in your --
THE PRESIDENT: Plenty.
Q What do you want to --
THE PRESIDENT: Plenty. I'm going to spend it in the short-term on getting a budget out that is fiscally responsible, one that decreases non-security discretionary spending -- actually decreases it, not increases it. Secondly, I will continue to work with Congress to make sure our soldiers have what they need to win the war on terror. We're making good progress in Iraq. And Iraq is a part of the war on terror. That's what the American people need to understand. That's what General Abizaid made clear when he came back from the theater. He recognized that Iraq is a part of a larger global struggle. And we got to win in Iraq, and we will win in Iraq.
Obviously, I've talked about energy. I want to make sure that Congress continues to focus on energy. Listen, we got a -- the storm created a short-term problem, and that is, when they shut down refineries, it creates a bubble in the system. Now, one of the things I did was I suspended all blending rules, in order to be able to more likely import foreign gasoline. And that helped make up the difference between the refinery capacity shutdown and the demands of the American people. But there's a bubble moving through the system, and one way to deal with it is to be wise about how we use energy.
So another way to deal with it is to recognize we've got tight energy supplies. And one way to deal with tight energy supplies is to increase supply. And the only way to increase supply is to build refineries. Again, I repeat to you this amazing fact: We have not built a new refinery in America since the 1970s. And then we had the storm, and it took refinery capacity off, and guess what happens? It creates a tight supply situation, which causes price to go up. So Congress needs to deal with that. And I repeat, they need to get the Patriot Act to my desk.
So we have a short-term agenda that we're dealing with, that have got consequences for the long-term. And once we get this part of the session over with, I, of course, will be preparing a State of the Union address for '06 that will call upon Congress to work to achieve much of what we've talked about here, but some new ideas, as well. But right now, let's just get the business of the Congress done, now.
This is just a highlight. And really, the transcript takes alot away from what we got by watching, including how pissed off he was when he decided to break of questions.