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Skriven 2006-07-20 23:34:54 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0607203) for Thu, 2006 Jul 20
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Press Briefing by Tony Snow
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For Immediate Release
July 20, 2006

Press Briefing by Tony Snow
James S. Brady Briefing Room

Press Briefing view


12:35 P.M. EDT

MR. SNOW: All right, hello and welcome. Let me run through some events
subsequent to this morning's gaggle. The President met with Vice President
Kiir of the government of South Sudan. They talked about a comprehensive
peace agreement in Sudan; the President also encouraging Vice President
Kiir to promote a government of national unity. The President, as you know,
is deeply concerned about what is going on in Darfur, and also encouraged
the transition from African Union forces to United Nations blue hats. He
encouraged the Vice President to work with rebels to bring the rest of the
rebel factions to the table. As you know, there has been an agreement. They
talked about the Lord's Resistance Army. And that is generally what they
did.

Also, the Iranian event I talked about in the gaggle actually is taking
place today. So that takes care of any questions.

Q Might the President be involved in that?

MR. SNOW: No, no. It's not on his schedule.

In addition, a couple of questions that arose this morning. No, there have
not been any contacts through the U.N. with the Iranians, but there's a
little coda to that that I'll add in a couple of minutes.

Also, President Bush this morning dropped by briefly at a meeting between
China's Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, General Guo, who
was meeting with National Security Advisor Steve Hadley. The President
spent 10 minutes with the General. President Bush noted the very positive
working relationship that he's developed with Chinese President Hu Jintao
was demonstrated by the unanimous vote at the United Nations last Saturday
on a North Korean resolution. The President also noted that the deepening
of the relationship between the two militaries was in the interest of peace
and stability in East Asia and the world, and that he was pleased to hear
General Guo meeting at the Pentagon had advanced the goal.

A further readout of this morning's conversation on the phone with Prime
Minister Erdogan of Turkey. Now, the Prime Minister did, in fact, initiate
the call. They discussed the importance of addressing the humanitarian
situation in Lebanon and also supporting the Siniora government. They
discussed the fact that Secretary Rice would be traveling to the region to
work on a diplomatic path forward. The President condemned Hezbollah for
provoking the crisis and thrusting Lebanon into a conflict that neither the
government nor the people wanted, and expressed his concern about Iranian
and Syrian support for Hezbollah. They also discussed recent PKK attacks
against Turkey and the need to work jointly to address that terrorist
threat.

In addition, today, the House of Representatives will be taking up the Oman
Free Trade Agreement, and we hope the House will take the opportunity to
pass it. It's going to send the message that the United States remains
committed to opening markets and contributing to global economic growth and
development. The free trade agreement with Oman would be our fourth such
agreement with an Arab country.

And now I'm open for questions. Jim.

Q President Bush is condemning Hezbollah.

MR. SNOW: Yes.

Q Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq is condemning Israel.

MR. SNOW: Yes.

Q Is this a sharp break with the President?

MR. SNOW: No, it's an expression of opinion on the part of -- the Prime
Minister about his views.

Q Is the opinion troubling the President?

MR. SNOW: No. The President -- you've got to understand that Prime Minister
Maliki is running a unity government and he is going to express the
opinions of that government. The President is conversant with those
opinions, and he is -- you know, he respects it and he looks forward to
talking with Prime Minister Maliki about it when Prime Minister Maliki
comes to Washington next week.

You know, it's interesting because it is a democracy and

they are permitted to disagree with us. That happens. And we have a number
of allies who has disagreed with us on a lot of other matters.

Q This could be the most significant issue facing the President right now.
It's a heck of a thing to be disagreeing about, isn't it?

MR. SNOW: No, because the primary point of emphasis in the relations
between the United States and Iraq right now is guaranteeing the security
of Baghdad, and also making sure that Iraqi democracy works, and works
effectively.

That's what they spend the bulk of their time working on, and that the
Prime Minister would express a contrary view is hardly new. The President
speaks quite often with people and works quite often with people who
disagree with him.

Q Last question on this.

MR. SNOW: Yes.

Q Is the administration at all concerned that the Prime Minister either has
any ties with Hezbollah, himself, or his party has ties with Hezbollah?

MR. SNOW: No, I doubt it. I'm not aware of that, but, no, I don't think so.

Q Tony, Kofi Annan called again for an immediate cease-fire. He criticized
both parties. He criticized Hezbollah for destabilizing the region and
making it hard to achieve peace, but he said Israel had created a
humanitarian crisis in Lebanon by what it's done. Does the administration
view it as a humanitarian crisis? And is it important to move more quickly,
rather than more slowly --

MR. SNOW: Well, nobody -- first, Tom, nobody is dragging their feet. There
is considerable activity on that front. If anybody is -- if there is a
humanitarian crisis, it's the responsibility of Hezbollah, which not only
began this by crossing over into Israeli soil and kidnapping soldiers and
also firing rockets into Israel -- Israel does have a right to defend
itself -- but, furthermore, using the people of south Lebanon, as I said
this morning, as human shields, putting rockets in their houses and radars
on their barns, saying, in effect, if you're going to fight against us,
you're going to have to go after civilians. And we are deeply, deeply
concerned about the loss of civilian life. And the President, as you gather
from the conversation with Prime Minister Erdogan, was talking about that.
And the United States has also said repeatedly to Israel, practice
restraint.

So we certainly are aware of what's going on, in humanitarian terms. And as
I've said also, we'd love to have a cease-fire. But Hezbollah has to be
part of it. And at this point, there's no indication that Hezbollah intends
to lay down arms.

Q Is there a time frame here, or are we just willing to let the string kind
of play out?

MR. SNOW: Don't know. One thing is -- people want time frames for wars? The
fact is, human events are constantly shifting and changing according to a
variety of factors, internal and external. And the idea of trying to impose
a calendar on something like that is very difficult.

We want there to be peace and stability in Lebanon at the earliest possible
date. And as a consequence, we've been engaged diplomatically with parties
throughout the region and also around the world, trying to get everybody to
exercise what leverage they may, especially on Hezbollah and its sponsors,
Syria and Iran, to make sure that there can be a peaceful resolution that
also preserves the government of Lebanon and creates the conditions in the
long run to make sure that the Lebanese people have a prosperous and
democratic way forward.

Q Is the U.S. conducting its own assessment of how -- to what degree
Hezbollah's assets are being debilitated by this assault? Or is it leaving
that up to Israel?

MR. SNOW: I think we're looking at whatever intelligence we can on it. But
our people will conduct -- they obviously will be sharing intelligence with
a number of people in the region trying to get a gauge on it. So it's kind
of the standard exercise-gathering mission in that sense. We're not relying
solely on any single source.

Q And does the President have an opinion today about whether or not he
would be willing to contribute military resources to a stabilizing force?

MR. SNOW: Again, that's something that's premature. As I've been saying all
week, and it's still true, people are trying to figure out the proper way
to do it. First thing you've got to do is to have a cessation of
hostilities so that you can bring forces into the region in such a way as
to allow the government of Lebanon to assert effective control. And that is
a key consideration.

Helen.

Q What is all this diplomacy? Does Secretary Rice have a proposal she's
taking when she goes on this trip?

MR. SNOW: Don't know yet. Secretary Rice is still working out what may or
may not be on her schedule. And I'm going to let State not merely announce
her travel plans, but also the intentions. I think they're still working on
it. And Secretary Rice, as you know, has been very actively involved in
talking with regional leaders, and not only getting their views, but also
expressing our concerns.

And again, they're pretty simple: We want the government of Lebanon, we
want the Siniora government to survive and thrive; we want an end to
hostilities; we want Hezbollah to take that first step of returning the
prisoners and stop firing the rockets.

Q You know, there is a perception that this is so one-sided for Israel, and
that we really are not trying to get a cease-fire. That's the perception in
the world.

MR. SNOW: Understood. And unfortunately, sometimes whatever the perceptions
may be -- whatever the perceptions may be, there are times when you conduct
diplomacy that you do it in a confidential manner for a reason, you want it
to succeed. And I am sure there are many temptations for diplomats to go
out and thump their chests and talk about the wonderful things they're
doing, but in the process, they may unravel coalitions that may be forming
and agreements that may be in the offing. And therefore, just not going to
say.

Q Can you say something is happening?

MR. SNOW: I'm saying that the United States has been expressing its
concerns to the government of Israel, and also been talking to our friends
and allies in the region.

Q But not very out loud.

MR. SNOW: Well, again, the thing is, do they want to make you happy, or do
they want to get something done? And that sometimes in the choice.

Q I think it's a question of making the world happy, of stopping the
killing on all sides.

MR. SNOW: You know what, you're absolutely right, absolutely agreed. To get
the killing to stop would make the world happy, and we've also indicated
who we think needs to take the first step.

Ann.

Q NAACP -- the President has been President for five years now, and he told
them that he regretted the fact that many African Americans distrust the
Republican Party. What has he done for five years to change that?

MR. SNOW: Well, for one thing, the President has done consistent outreach
with African Americans. Look, this is a President, you take a look at his
political career, what has George W. Bush done, he's tried to do outreach.
He understands that there was a history in which the Republican Party was
seen as the active enemy of black voters in this country. It's one of the
reasons why you have such lopsided Democratic majorities.

As governor of Texas, between his first and second elections he doubled the
percentage of black voters. He considers that important, not because he
views black voters as a constituency*, but because he believes that for an
America to be whole and fulfill the American Dream you can't be divided
along racial lines. And so as a consequence, it's important.

Now, the other thing is you need to realize that in trying to move down the
road of opportunity, a lot of the programs, a lot of the things you do are
common sense. For instance, he made the point today on schools: a lot of
minority kids, a lot of poor kids in this country are stuck in second rate
schools, and he considers that an absolute shame. He's got No Child Left
Behind, he's put together a number of programs. That is not a program
specifically aimed at African Americans.

Similarly, he put together an economic program that's designed to create
jobs for Americans. You also aim tax breaks at those in the lower income
levels. But the point is, a lot of these things are necessary for all
Americans, but they also help advance the original civil rights agenda,
which is equal opportunity for all.

Q What did the President think of his reception?

MR. SNOW: I haven't talked to him. I mean, he looked like he enjoyed it. It
was interesting. I guess there was a LaRouche who disrupted things -- we
were told that the disruptor was a member of Lyndon LaRouche's whatever.
And Julian Bond expressed some unhappiness about that.

Q There were two of them.

MR. SNOW: There were two of them -- okay, the LaRouches. (Laughter.) But in
any event --

Q Could you characterize the reception?

MR. SNOW: I wasn't there. I'll leave it to people who were there to
characterize it. I was back here getting ready to deal with you.

Q Tony, I can just follow on that real quick?

MR. SNOW: Yes. Oh, by the way, happy birthday.

Q Oh, thank you, sir.

Q Did you want to have your picture taken? (Laughter.)

Q Anybody else have a birthday? (Laughter.)

Q You just said that the majority of the President's tax cuts have actually
been geared towards lowering --

MR. SNOW: The President's tax cuts, if you take a look at what the
President has been doing -- and this has been going on for a while here --
is shifting the tax burden. And, as a matter of fact, if you take a look at
it, again, the upper brackets are carrying more of the burden and he's been
reducing taxes. And you take it as a proportion of overall income, it is
larger at the lower ends of the income scale.

Q Can I ask you about Iraq? A Republican Congressman, Gil Gutknecht from
Minnesota came back from a trip last week to Iraq, an official trip, and
came back and said he believes the conditions on the ground are worse than
the administration has been telling the public. And he's also now calling
for troops to start coming home. What's the White House reaction to that?

MR. SNOW: The White House reaction is that, number one, we understand that
there is a real attempt, especially in and around Baghdad, to create
violence, create havoc, and weaken the government. And the response to that
is not to run away, but to figure out how best to deal with the terror
elements so that the Maliki government is going to be able to operate
effectively.

And I guarantee you, that's going to be one of the key things that the
President and the Prime Minister talk about next week.

Q But when John Murtha and other Democrats called for troops to come home,
Karl Rove and others have said that this is cutting and running. Here you
have a Republican Congressman in a tight re-election. He's saying troops
should come home, and that the conditions on the ground are not as you're
saying.

MR. SNOW: Well, we also disagree with him.

Q Is he waving the white flag of surrender?

MR. SNOW: No. He's expressing his opinion.

John.

Q Thank you, Tony. Two questions. First, following up on the question of --

MR. SNOW: Actually, Mark, you'll have to ask him. Ask him. That's the best
way to get the good answer.

Go ahead.

Q Following up on the NAACP speech, while it is significant the President
addressed the group, and it is the oldest civil rights group, it's also
been a group that's been very critical of the President for a lot of
things. Has he ever considered addressing other groups, notably the
Congress of Racial Equality, headed by Roy Innis?

MR. SNOW: Well, he's spoken to the Urban League, and he will speak to other
groups. I'm not going to go through and now start trying to tick off groups
that may or may not be visited by the President. But look, let's face it,
this is a large and serious civil rights organization, the oldest in the
country. And he thought it was important to address them.

Q But it's also been a group that's critical of him. CORE has not been.

MR. SNOW: Yes, well, that's understood.

Q The other thing I wanted to ask, this morning you mentioned the President
was going to talk with Chairman Lugar, following Senator Voinovich's
decision to support --

MR. SNOW: Actually, the talks predate that. They've been talking about this
for some time, but go ahead.

Q Do we have any kind of a time frame when the President will make a
permanent appointment, if he'll make a permanent appointment of Ambassador
Bolton?

MR. SNOW: Well, he's already -- the nomination of Ambassador Bolton is
still before the United States Senate. He was renominated right after the
recess appointment. So that is a nomination that is pending before the
United States Senate, and the question now is whether you move through the
committee and have another set of hearings, or you go to the floor. So it's
a technical question. So he's already done that.

Wendell.

Q The President has said that it's important to address the root cause of
the violence in the Middle East, which he describes as terrorism, and the
support by Iran and Syrian. Secretary General Kofi Annan today said, you're
right, you should address the root cause, the absence of peace between
Israel and the Palestinians. Why is the Secretary General wrong?

MR. SNOW: The Secretary General is not wrong, but the Secretary General has
taken a smaller bite at the apple. The point I made earlier today is that
you've got a lot of things going on right now. We want Israel to practice
restraint to achieve whatever it needs to do in the way of national self
defense, realizing that we also have a couple of other goals that are
important to achieve: one, the integrity of the Siniora government, the
elected government in Lebanon; number two, the future prospects of a
two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. And it's important
to get all parties in the neighborhood working in the same direction. So
those are considerations.

And I think what's happened is that Secretary General Annan has taken a
view that deals strictly with Israel and Palestine. I would maintain that
the war on terror is a little bit broader and actually does jeopardize
people throughout the region, and is an appropriate target for everybody to
gather around. I also think that there's probably more agreement in the
region about going after the war on terror and Hezbollah than there is
about the precise way to proceed on some of the other problems.

Q Also, if I could, the President often talks about the need for the
international community to speak with one voice in matters such as this.
And Secretary General Annan agreed, though he says, the one voice now
should be, stop the violence. He is not hearing that so much from the
United States.

MR. SNOW: No, au contraire. What we have said --

Q Mr. Intercontinental.

MR. SNOW: Oui, oui. (Laughter.) No, what Secretary Annan -- Secretary Annan
wants the same thing we want which is a cessation of violence. And what
we've done is we've said the people principally responsible are Hezbollah,
who started this. I don't think there is any disagreement about the fact.
So, no, I don't think there is a disagreement on that. We agree.

Q Well, he agrees the people principally responsible are Hezbollah.

MR. SNOW: Right.

Q But he says there are two parties involved in this now.

MR. SNOW: We agree with that. But there's one party that started it, and
one party that has also said that it is willing to wage "total war" on the
other party. That's not Israel, that's Hezbollah. And if Hezbollah is
willing to stop firing rockets and to return the soldiers, then you've got
a way forward. And you've got to keep your eye on the ball here. We've been
making that point, and we'll continue to. And I think a lot of people
certainly have agreed that was the position of the G8.

Goyal.

Q Tony, two quick questions. One, there is already big tension between
India and Pakistan. Also there is the arms race between the two countries,
and I feel that they might go into war again. And today the House is
discussing -- the House International Relations Committee -- F-16 sale to
Pakistan. Do you think the President favors or supports that sale?

MR. SNOW: I'll have to double-check. I don't want to get off my brief on
this. I'll get you an answer.

Q And second, as far as terrorism in the Middle East is concerned, first it
was Hamas and Hezbollah and Syria, Iran, all these people are supporting
terrorism against Israel, against also India and many of the countries and
against the West. My question, why the Muslim countries -- and these people
are all Muslims, unfortunately. But Muslim dictators and Arab leaders have
not come out to speak against terrorism or against terrorists. Why they
have not come out, and why we are not pushing? Why they are quiet on this
issue?

MR. SNOW: Well, you've had a number of Arab and Muslim leaders speaking out
against terror at various times. And you certainly see this with the Arab
League shouting out Hezbollah last week. So I don't think the premise is
right.

Richard.

Q Tony, much of the reporting on the President's decision to go to the
NAACP convention has said in it one of the reasons why he's going is
because he wants to help Republicans running in November present a
friendlier face to the African American voters.

MR. SNOW: That was never part of the conversation. I mean, the President --
he wanted to go to the NAACP and deliver a speech. I mean, this is a
President who really does believe that there has been too much partisan
acrimony when it comes to civil rights, and that a lot of the important
work ahead is intensely practical. It is things like guaranteeing equal
opportunity so that every child -- not just rich kids -- get access to the
best educations. It is taking a look, making sure that the road to
employment opportunity is open. It is trying to make sure that the economy
grows and creates opportunities for everybody. And also, as the President
indicated, there are still some -- there's some racial tension in this
country. And there are things that are not always addressed by a government
program but simply by setting the right example. And I think you need to
put all of those pieces together. And that is kind of the commitment the
President has made.

April is waving her hand. Yes, April.

Q Yes, Tony. Congresspeople like Charlie Rangel are saying that it is an
election year ploy, mid-term election year ploy. But wouldn't it indeed
help the Republican Party whose African American numbers have dropped since
the last election?

MR. SNOW: Look, we've always said good policy is good politics. And what
the President was -- the point the President was making is that if you take
a look at the unfinished civil rights agenda, the laws have taken care of
discrimination in the sense of saying, it is illegal to discriminate on the
basis of race -- a lot of things that were not illegal in the '60s. I mean,
Jim Crow was still legal in many parts of this country for a long time.
Those, at least on the statute books have been taken care of.

But there are still lingering problems that have to deal with such things
as unemployment, poor education, single family households,** families that
have been splintered -- all problems that each and every -- that affect
Americans of all income brackets, but have a special importance in the
African American community.

And so the point he was making is that all of these things, all of these
obstacles to opportunity, are things that we can work together on trying to
accomplish and trying to eliminate.

Q And a follow-up. Bruce Gordon just gave the President a "B" for his
speech. But he says at issue, really, is the follow-up. What's next? What
happens next?

MR. SNOW: Well, you'll be hearing more. I mean, there will be some speeches
--

Q Hearing or seeing?

MR. SNOW: Well -- but the thing is, you have been seeing. And that's one of
the points the President was trying to make today. A lot of times, what you
have is -- when a President signs an education bill, nobody says, well, who
is this going to help the most? The way No Child Left Behind works is that
the people who for a long time have been left behind by an education system
that has betrayed poor Americans by giving them second-rate educations --
and education, as you know, is the first step out of poverty -- that is one
of the things that the -- that was one of the first agenda items for this
President.

Trying to create an economy that grows rapidly enough to provide employment
opportunities, both at the starting end and also throughout the income
scale, is important. So not only to people who are in their first jobs,
they got an opportunity, but people also have the opportunity to move up
the income scale, as many people do, taking job after job in the course of
their lives and careers. Those are important things.

Now, that seems to me to fit into the traditional civil rights agenda of
building a basis of prosperity and hope. When you talk about family policy
-- there is a story today, I believe it was in The New York Times, that
talked about the fact that policies designed to hold families together in
New Orleans seemed to be bearing fruit. That reflects all of the research
we have seen, which is that intact families simply have a better record
when it comes to a lot of the basics.

And so all of those things seem to fit the agenda. So part of it is the
President has been walking the walk, and that was one of the points and the
centerpieces of his speech today.

Q Tony, after the speech people said that the President said what he needed
to say about the Voting Rights Act and they were very appreciative of that,
but that the speech fell flat when he spoke about education, jobs and other
issues. And they felt very passionately that on jobs, housing, education,
affirmative action, this administration has not put forth policies that
have improved their lives. How do you respond to that?

MR. SNOW: Two things. First, take a look at the economic data. You have
seen growing -- I guess I could put it this way -- income equality has a
better record in this administration than in previous. There was this
widening gap. It's not widening anymore.

The second thing is, when it comes to things like school choice, it's an
interesting -- a lot of times you'll find that if you go and poll people
who are in these lousy schools, guess what they want? They want school
choice. They want another option.

So I think the President may not have resonated with some of the people who
were speaking with you or others. It was certainly resonating for people
who live in this city. And it was certainly resonating with people who live
in a lot of cities -- Cleveland, Ohio, where I think several years ago,
thousands lined up for a school choice program because they wanted a better
option, they wanted their kids to have the opportunity.

So again, I would argue that the President's policies have, in fact, been
pursuing it, and would encourage everybody to take a fair look at the real
record.

Q Just a follow up. Many African Americans have family members, sons and
daughters, or wives, husbands, serving in Iraq, and some after the speech,
including Congressman John Lewis, were surprised and disappointed that the
President did not mention the war. Why didn't he make any mention of the
war in Iraq?

MR. SNOW: I think he had a pretty full plate just walking through domestic
policy. There may be another time to address it. But I'll tell you what,
the President has mentioned the war many times, and not only has he
mentioned the war, but he's been out among those servicemen and women, and
he's thanked them personally. And you've seen the emotion that overcomes
the President when he's looking out there. I mean, he's got a very deep
commitment and attachment to the men and women in the uniformed services.
And I think Congressman Lewis understands that.

You start getting into the game of, why didn't he address X, when you have
a 40-minute speech that addressed a whole lot of things. What you have is
the recipe for a three-hour speech. This is one where the President was
making some very clear points on the domestic policy side, which is that
there is plenty of room for us to work together. And maybe this is a time
for people with goodwill to start doing that.

This was not an attempt to curry votes for the Republican Party. This was a
reflection of a longstanding personal commitment to try to lower the
temperature when it comes to race relations so people really can get along
and work together, understanding that the same basic goals really do unite
us.

Q Tony, Israel --

MR. SNOW: Well, let's finish on the NAACP speech, and then we'll move on.
Is that all for the -- okay, so we go to foreign policy.

Q NAACP.

MR. SNOW: Okay, NAACP, okay. Good to see you, Ellen.

Q Thank you.

MR. SNOW: You colored your hair.

Q It's darker. It's Fox News channel. (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: It looks good. That's all right, I mean well.

Q Yes, those stem cells -- (Laughter.)

Q There has just been a study that came out last week on private schools,
showing that students do not necessarily do better in private schools. Yet
you're talking about the equivalent of vouchers, et cetera, related to the
President's speech today. How do you justify that?

MR. SNOW: A lot of times it's public schools. There are some pretty good
public schools where the doors are still closed to people who just happen,
by accident, to live in the wrong places. And there is no prohibition when
you're talking about school choice to move around to public schools, as
well. Again, the concept is real simple, and parents are pretty smart
shoppers about these things. If you want to find out where your kid is
going to get a good education so he or she may be able to go to college,
may be able to build a career, may be able to do better than mom and dad
did, they care about this. Attend any PTA meeting in the United States and
you'll get a feel for it.

So I think the notion behind school choice is not get every kid into a
private school, it's create not only the opportunity to go to a better
school, but also create pressure on the school your kids go to. Because,
let's face it, most people want the choice to go to the real good school
that's closest to their house. They don't want to travel a long way. And so
this also helps create healthy pressure on schools to perform.

Q Related question. Does the President, perhaps with an eye back to the ads
that were run against him in 2000, view the NAACP as a partisan political
organization?

MR. SNOW: No, at this point -- as you know, that was an NAACP legal defense
fund, which is a separate but related entity. It's not the same thing as
the NAACP. And the President looks at the NAACP as a venerable organization
that he wants to do business with.

Q Related --

MR. SNOW: Yes, related?

Q Yes. Does the President think that he can keep diverse points of view in
his mind if his senior staff -- that means, assistant to the President or
the equivalent -- are more than 80 percent men, all white, one Hispanic,
four women, no blacks?

MR. SNOW: Yes.

Q Why?

MR. SNOW: He talks to his Cabinet, which is more diverse than any --

Q He's talking to Caucasian Americans.

MR. SNOW: Yes, and he's also got Secretary Gutierrez, he has Secretary Rice
-- perhaps you've noticed. Look, I think it's insulting to believe --

Q Jackson.

MR. SNOW: Thank you. Alphonso Jackson.

Q (Inaudible.)

MR. SNOW: Let me just make the following point. Skin color, in fact -- one
of the central insights of the civil rights movement is skin color
shouldn't matter. And when it comes to -- the President understands
people's discomfort about race. That's something you probably share. You've
probably walked in a room with a large minority population and you think,
you know, there's something in the air here. What is this? It's something
that every American has experienced, whether we like to or not. We love to
be color blind, but it's still one of those things that we need to
overcome, and I think we all need to set an example.

But the one thing that does unite us is the same basic needs, desires, and
aspirations. And that's the point the President was making today. You don't
give a black speech because black folks have the same needs and desires and
wants as white folks, that we've taken legal discrimination off the statute
books, but we have to be honest about the task that lies ahead, and that is
intensely practical work that involves government activity, but it also
involves personal example, and the President was trying to set that today.

Q If he's proud of the diversity in his Cabinet, could you expect him to
improve diversity amongst the White House staff?

MR. SNOW: What the President does is he looks for the best available
people.

Q And they're all white?

MR. SNOW: I don't know, why don't you tell me? (Laughter.) You can come
aboard and do personnel. You want to?

Q I'm asking you a question.

MR. SNOW: I know you are, but it's an argumentative question that also
applied to other previous administrations. Would we like more blacks and
Hispanics on? Yes, sure.

Q Any Asians?

MR. SNOW: Asians, too, yes, thank you.

Q Tony --

MR. SNOW: Let me leave no one behind. Every -- just every group, raise your
hand. We want you.

Q Can I ask one on stem cells?

MR. SNOW: Okay.

Q Thank you. Has the White House received much reaction to the stem cell
veto? And do you see a day when the President would believe that embryonic
stem cell research, which is private, becomes illegal?

MR. SNOW: The answer to the second is, no, and the answer to the first is,
what? I forgot the first.

Q Has he had much reaction to the veto?

MR. SNOW: I don't know. I haven't checked the switchboard. You know, he
said what he believed. It's not the sort of thing that we're -- if you get
a tide of phone calls or emails in one direction, then he's going to say,
oh, changed my mind. There was a campaign pledge, and it's also doing what
he thinks is the right thing to do.

Q Also on Iran and North Korea, there was testimony today that Iranians
were observing the missile test. Does the U.S. have proof that the North
Koreans were selling --

MR. SNOW: I believe this was a statement that, I think they might have, or
something. It is not something we can nail down.

Q Tony, following up Connie's first question. Yesterday in the East Room,
where no questions were allowed, the President said -- and this is a quote
-- "Each of these human embryos is a unique human life with inherent
dignity and matchless value. We all begin our lives as a small collection
of cells." My question: This means that the President believes that all
miscarriages should have both death certificates and funerals, doesn't it?

MR. SNOW: The question hasn't come up. I know the parents grieve them, if
that's good enough for you, Lester.

Q This means also that the President believes that one's actual age is
determined not by birth date, but by estimated conception date, isn't it?

MR. SNOW: No.

Q Thank you. Two questions, like Lester. How long will the President allow
international opinion to turn against Israel and the United States before
stepping in? Isn't it time now for active U.S. diplomacy?

MR. SNOW: You've got to stop getting those questions. No, I mean, the
United States has been engaged in active diplomacy -- and I think I've made
this point every -- the President has called a number of heads of state.
The Secretary of State has been in touch with just about everybody in the
region. We've been in contact with Middle Eastern allies, with Eastern
allies, with European allies, with parties on the scene. We've probably
been more active diplomatically. We've been active at the U.N., the State
Department, the Department of Defense, the White House, itself.

I don't know how you could be more diplomatically active. The fact that you
weren't invited to the meetings or given the notes doesn't mean that there
wasn't activity, Sarah.

Q I have one more question on immigration. A poll last month shows Hispanic
support for the President and Republicans fading because of failed attempts
to get a new immigration policy. With the November elections three months
away, what can the President do to win back Hispanics?

MR. SNOW: Look, the President on this and other issues is not sitting
around saying "What can I do to pander?" His position on immigration is
pretty clear. He's made it clear to the House of Representatives. I
wouldn't say there's a failure when he has pushed both Houses of Congress
to pass immigration bills. Now he's going to try to figure out a way to get
both sides to get along. I mean, that is a challenge that the President is
taking on. So I think he's got a perfectly defensible record.

Q Can you state categorically that you're not holding back on calling for
an immediate cease-fire or on sending Condoleezza Rice to the Middle East
so that the Israelis will have time to "defang Hezbollah" as a senior
administration official said?

MR. SNOW: I don't know who the senior administration official was, but it
certainly doesn't reflect any of the conversations I've been involved in,
and it's not the position of the President.

Q So that's a no?

MR. SNOW: That is a no.

Q Thank you.

END 1:10 P.M. EDT

*just a constituency

**single-parent households
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