September 20, 2007
Bush Riffs On Iran, MoveOn And 'Missing' Rumsfeld
Proving yet again that his lame-duck status is the media's gain, President Bush treated the White House press corps to a freewheeling Q&A session this morning, in which the explainer in chief talked about the threat of war with Iran, that MoveOn ad, the GOP's record on race relations -- and even his feelings.
Before taking questions, though, the president scolded Democrats for failing to promptly renew a federal health insurance program for low-income children. "Unfortunately, instead of working with the administration to enact this funding increase to children's health care, Democrats have passed a bill they know will be vetoed."
Congressional negotiators are working to reconcile the House and Senate bills under threat of veto from Bush for provisions that raise the income ceiling for eligibility.
"One of the [Democratic] leaders said a veto would be a victory," Bush said, visibly irked. He was referring to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who said this week that a White House veto of final SCHIP legislation might be read as opposition to insuring poor children, which would be a "political victory" for Democrats.
Bush said that he has backed SCHIP since his days as governor of Texas, but that he opposed offering federally funded health care to children from families earning $80,000. The income ceiling is actually not that high in either the Senate or House bills, though some states are permitted to issue waivers to families earning around that much. Democrats want to roll back a policy introduced by the White House last summer that prohibits SCHIP coverage for households earning two and a half times the poverty level, or $51,625 for a family of four. They contend that private insurance is prohibitively expensive for some middle-income households.
The president also said he opposed all new taxes, including the cigarette tax hike that would help fund SCHIP. "There's no need to raise taxes. I believe this is a step toward federalization of health care," Bush said. "Their proposal is beyond the scope of the program."
Later, when the topic moved onto Iran, Bush did not say anything that he hadn't said before, despite recent reports that his administration is stepping up war planning for that country and indications France is doing so as well. "The free world is just not going to tolerate their knowing how to develop nuclear weapons," Bush said, after insisting that the administration's policy is diplomacy first.
But the discussion stopped when Bush was asked about a mysterious Israeli airstrike on Syria earlier this month. "I'm not going to comment on the matter," he said, each time he was asked about the raid. Israeli officials have refused to explain the attack, and Syria won't say what the target was even though it filed a formal complaint with the U.N.
The president was later asked about former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's first interview since leaving Washington. What did Bush make of Rumsfeld's comment that he did not miss the president?
"I miss him!" Bush declared. But doesn't he feel betrayed by that comment, along with those made by former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan in his new book? "My feelings are not hurt," Bush said, getting a little more serious. "I respect Secretary Rumsfeld; I believe he did a fine job. And I respect Alan Greenspan."
Bush pointed to the overall strength of the economy in refuting Greenspan's criticisms of White House fiscal policy. "We dealt with a recession, a terrorist attack and corporate scandals," Bush said. "The tax cuts worked, the economy recovered, people are working, interest rates are low." He said that he wasn't worried about a recession, and repeatedly warned Congress not to raise taxes. "I think I got a B in Econ 101," Bush joked. "I got an A in keeping taxes low and being fiscally responsible with people's money."
Bush also seemed to scold members of his own party for not embracing his "big tent" view of the Republican Party. Asked about Republican candidates who've skipped debate forums sponsored by black and Latino organizations, Bush said, "My advice to whoever will be our nominee is to reach out to the African-American community as well as other communities, because I believe we've got a very strong record when it comes to" empowerment, home ownership and small businesses for minorities. Adding that he was "saddened" by the race controversy in Jena, La., Bush said, "All of us want fairness in justice. We've got a good record [on race relations], and my advice to the candidates would be to run on it."
When the topic moved to Iraq, Bush said that he hadn't spoken to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki about the Blackwater controversy, and said he planned to do so next week at the opening of the U.N. General Assembly. The president stated that security contractors are bound by the rules of engagement, and that he would wait for the results of an investigation into Sunday's shootings, which killed several civilians, before weighing in.
Bush also said that he knew "nothing" about the Hunt Oil deal with Kurdistan. The arrangement has come under scrutiny by the Iraqi government, which considers it illegal, and by American politicians. Hunt Oil CEO Ray Hunt is a major donor to the RNC and also contributed to Bush's presidential election bids. The president, however, said he was "concerned" that the deal undermined negotiations over a national oil revenue-sharing law in the central government.
Reporters closed the press conference with a question about The Ad That Just Won't Die. "I thought the ad was disgusting," Bush said of MoveOn's Sept. 10 full-page buy in the New York Times criticizing Gen. David Petraeus. "I felt like the ad was an attack not only on General Petraeus, but on the U.S. military."
Bush said he was "disappointed" that more Democrats had not denounced the ad, which led him "to come to this conclusion, that most Democrats are more afraid of irritating a left-wing group like MoveOn than they are of irritating the U.S. military."
"That is a sorry deal," the president said. "It's one thing to attack me. It's another thing to attack General Petraeus."
Posted at 11:23 AM
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Bush Administration, Campaigns, Congress, David Petraeus, Donald Rumsfeld, Economy, Iran, Iraq, Middle East, Military, President Bush, Republicans, Taxes, WH 2008
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