Text 329, 568 rader
Skriven 2005-01-18 23:34:44 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0501183) for Tue, 2005 Jan 18
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Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 18, 2005

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room



  þ President's schedule
  þ Clear mandate for second term
  þ Advancing freedom in the world
  þ Vote in Iraq
  þ Role of Middle East leaders in Iraq election
  þ Dr. Rice confirmation hearings
  þ Inaugural pageantry
  þ Latin American policy
  þ Inaugural speech
  þ Government involvement in people's lives
  þ Constitutional amendment on marriage
  þ President's agenda/Democratic support
  þ Social Security
  þ Chinese workers abducted in Iraq
  þ Iran nuclear capability

12:28 P.M. EST

MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon. Let me update you on one more leader call
from this morning. The President spoke to King Abdullah of Jordan this
morning. The two leaders discussed the upcoming election in Iraq and the
importance of encouraging the broadest participation possible by the Iraqi
people in the election. They also discussed the Israel-Palestinian
situation and the need to end terrorist attacks. Both also expressed the
need to help the new government of President Abbas to move forward as it
builds the institutions necessary for a viable democratic state to emerge.

And just one more thing before we begin. The President is honored to be
given the opportunity by the American people to continue serving for
another four years. He is looking forward to the inaugural and taking the
oath of office this week. The inaugural theme is celebrating freedom,
honoring service, and it kicks off today with an event honoring our men and
women in uniform. The President can think of no better way to begin the
inaugural than by giving thanks for our freedom and thanking those who make
it possible. So he looks forward to this afternoon's event. He also looks
forward to this evening's event, when we celebrate -- have a concert for
America's youth and the theme of that is "A Call To Service." It's an
opportunity to herald our youth for their volunteer service participation
in their neighborhoods and communities, and also to encourage wider
participation by our youth in their neighborhoods and communities to help
those who are in need.

And with that, I will be glad to go to your questions.

Q There's a poll out that says the President begins his second term -- that
he does not have a clear mandate as he begins his second term. What do you
think about that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think there's a lot of strong support in those
surveys for a lot of what we are doing. These are hopeful and historic
times in which we live, and the President will be talking this week in his
inaugural address about the big challenges we face and the opportunity that
those challenges present for us to really work together to achieve big
things for the world and for this nation. And so he will talk about the
importance of advancing freedom to achieve peace abroad and security at
home. And he'll also talk about the importance of extending freedom here in
America by building an ownership society. The President wants people to
have more control over their own lives and more say over their own lives,
and building an ownership society is one of the key principles that will
guide us as we move forward into a second term.

But this is a week to really bring people together around the common
challenges that we face and to talk about the ideals and values that we
cherish and hold so dearly.

Q On Inauguration Day, what are the President's -- what's going to be his
first official act? Is he issuing any executive orders? Do you anticipate
that there will be any Cabinet members to be sworn in?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll be updating you as the week goes on, and obviously,
there are a number of Cabinet nominees that have been going through
confirmation hearings. I expect that the President, in the near future,
will participate in ceremonial swearing-ins for those Cabinet members once
they're confirmed by the Senate. I also expect that some of those Cabinet
members will be sworn into office prior to that so that they can get about
doing the American people's business.

But in terms of Thursday, we've provided you a list of the President's
activities for that day, and we'll keep you updated as we get closer. I
know that he begins the day with a prayer service over at St. John's
Church, just across the street here, just across Pennsylvania Avenue. And
so he's really looking forward to that day. He's excited about the
opportunities we have before us.

Q Is there anything beyond the pageantry, I mean, is there anything
substantive that he's doing?

MR. McCLELLAN: Giving a speech. I think it's a very substantive speech that
you will enjoy listening to. But I will keep you posted on his schedule.

Q Does the President think that advancing freedom through war is the only
way you can do it?

MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely not. And, of course, that's --

Q Does he intend to continue that MO?

MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely not, Helen. In fact, we are working in a number
of ways to support the advance of freedom throughout the world. The
President believes that all people yearn to live in freedom. And we will
always stand on the side of those who seek freedom, and the United States
will be there to support them in their efforts. One of the key priorities
of this administration is continuing to advance freedom in the broader
Middle East. I think you've heard Dr. Rice talk about that --

Q Will he denounce the use of war to perpetuate freedom?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think you've heard the President talk -- you heard Condi
Rice talk about it in her confirmation hearings early today. War is always
a last resort. But there are many ways we're supporting the advance of
freedom, and that includes efforts to expand freedom in the broader Middle
East. It's a dangerous region of the world that for too long has only known
tyranny and oppression and hatred, and we want to bring hope and
opportunity and freedom to the people of that region. There are many
hopeful signs that we are seeing about advancing freedom in the world.
We've seen elections take place in Afghanistan. We've seen elections take
place for a new Palestinian president. And we are seeing elections move
forward in Iraq. For the first time, the Iraqi people are going to be able
to choose their leaders. This is a historic --

Q At a very heavy price.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- this is a historic moment for the Iraqi people, and we
are there to support them in those efforts.

Q Scott, you told us about two calls the President made today to world
leaders, to Prime Minister Allawi, of Iraq, and to King Abdullah, of
Jordan. And in both of them you said he encouraged those leaders to get the
maximum participation in this election in Iraq going. Is that a sign the
President is concerned that --

MR. McCLELLAN: No. In fact, I don't know if I'd describe it the same way
you did. What they talked about was they're -- they are all committed to
making sure that there is as broad participation as possible in the
upcoming election. This is the first election of a number to come over the
course of the next year. It's the first step in the election process on the
path to a democratic future for the Iraqi people. And that's a significant
achievement in and of itself, that for the first time, the Iraqi people
will be holding elections to freely choose their leaders. And this is a
transitional government.

But Prime Minister Allawi has been reaching out to all sectors of the Iraqi
community to encourage broad participation in the elections. This is --
it's important that we do everything we can to support the Iraqi people to
have the best possible election. And that's what we'll continue to do.

Q It does sound a bit, Scott, as if you're trying to lower expectations for
this election. You're saying, it's the first of a series, it's a first
step, it's not perfect, try for the best election possible under the
circumstances. Is that because the President and his team are concerned
that this isn't going to be a widely -- not a wide participation in this
election, it might not be everything that he might have hoped for six weeks
-- six months ago?

MR. McCLELLAN: As I said, the fact that the Iraqi people are having
elections is a significant achievement. A year ago, people would have
looked at that as not very realistic. And now we are seeing that for the
first time, they are going to be able to freely choose their leaders. And
this is an important step on the path to democracy, but there are other
elections that will take place over the course of the next year. They will
ratify the constitution later this year, once it is adopted by that
transitional government. The transitional government will be putting in
place the leaders for that transition period to a permanent government. And
then, at the end of the year, they're going to be voting on a permanent
government.

And it's important -- the stakes are high in Iraq. I think everybody
recognizes that. The international community recognizes how high the stakes
are; the Iraqi people do; and the terrorists recognize how high the stakes
are. And this election taking place will be an important step to defeating
the ambitions of those who want to return to the past of oppression and
tyranny, and it will be an important step on the path to a democratic and
peaceful future for the Iraqi people. I think everybody recognizes that it
won't be a perfect election, but we want to ensure the best possible
election. Our own democracy has taken time to build. Democracies take time
to emerge and build. But we'll be there, every step of the way, to support
the Iraqi people as they assume more and more responsibility for their
future.

Q You said you look at it in those terms. Is it fair to say that no matter
what happens in Iraq on January 30th, whatever the turnout might be -- low,
high -- whatever the level of violence, this President will declare it a
success?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we'll see what happens. We can talk about it at that
point, once the elections have taken place. Many people didn't think
elections could take place in Afghanistan, and now they have an elected
President representing the Afghan people. We are moving forward to support
the Iraqi people.

The Iraqi people want to vote. They want to choose their leaders. They want
to assume more responsibility for their future. The United Nations election
advisor, just the other day, said that the elections are on track,
everything is on track. And he talked about the importance of moving
forward on these elections. I think everybody in the international
community understands the importance of moving forward with the Iraqi
people on this election. But this is the first step. But it is a
significant achievement, the fact that the Iraqi people will be holding
elections to freely choose their leaders.

Q Scott, from the President's conversations with Allawi, as well as King
Abdullah, what is the administration's understanding of their role as
Middle East leaders? Is the President satisfied with their participation in
the Iraq elections?

MR. McCLELLAN: With their participation? Well, Prime Minister Allawi is
very involved in those elections. He is someone who is a strong leader, who
is firmly committed to helping the Iraqi people build a democratic and
peaceful future, and someone who's committed to the rule of law and
self-governance. And the President appreciates the efforts of people like
Prime Minister Allawi and King Abdullah and other leaders in the region and
elsewhere who understand the importance of supporting the Iraqi people as
they move forward on holding elections.

You're seeing in news reports of how strongly the Iraqi people feel about
being given the opportunity to vote, and they want to vote as soon as
possible. And you're seeing news articles covering how ex-patriots across
the world are wanting to go to great lengths just to cast their ballot for
a freely-elected government. And they realize this is the first step and
that democracy will take time to fully emerge. But the international
community stands with the Iraqi people. In statement after statement, and
through their actions, the international community is showing their support
for moving forward on these elections.

Q So the President is satisfied with the participation -- not of Allawi,
but other leaders in the Middle East?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think there are a number of leaders -- in fact, King
Abdullah recently hosted a meeting where Arab nations reaffirmed their
commitment to helping the Iraqi people and their commitment to moving
forward on elections.

Q Has the President been watching any of the confirmation hearing today of
his friend, his very close friend, Dr. Rice?

MR. McCLELLAN: Last I checked, he had not had the opportunity. He had a
number of meetings this morning during the time that her confirmation
hearings began. And then he had a Homeland Security Council meeting, he had
some interviews, and he was participating in some speech preparation for
his address on Thursday.

He did speak with her last night and wished her well. She is someone who
will make an outstanding Secretary of State and build upon the many
accomplishments that Secretary Powell has worked to achieve during his time
in office. And the President looks forward to her nomination being
confirmed quickly.

Q Scott, as Dr. Rice is on the Hill, one cannot think about the fact of
their closeness, and how she runs across the hall and he may pick up the
phone or she'll run across the hall and talk to him about different things.
How is that going to work now that she's going to be up the street and he's
going to be here, she's going to be there? Are they going to keep some kind
of situation where maybe she can come in the morning, still spend a little
more time -- extra time here and go to the State Department --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Secretary Powell has been very involved in the
deliberations and the decision-making process here at the White House. He
is someone that the President has met with on at least, I would say, a
weekly basis. But there are many other additional meetings beside that. So
I'm sure she'll be spending -- continue to spend a good bit of time here at
the White House. She has the full trust of the President, and she is fully
ready to step in and be America's chief diplomat.

Q And also, lastly, many people are concerned about the pageantry right now
as you are dealing with the situation of the tsunami-stricken areas, and
also the insurgents in Iraq. Was there ever any consideration of trying to
downplay a lot of the pageantry, the balls and the things of that nature,
as the world is going through many different issues?

MR. McCLELLAN: The inaugural is a great American tradition, and it's an
opportunity to highlight democracy and freedom, and to show the world the
values that America stands for. This inaugural will be, as I pointed out,
celebrating freedom, and also paying tribute to our men and women in
uniform who defend our freedoms. This is an opportunity to highlight the
greatness of America. And the President looks forward to participating in
the events, and he's appreciative of the strong support across America for
the events that are taking place.

Q At her confirmation hearing this morning, Dr. Rice was asked, is the
President going to focus new economic attention on Latin America, and,
diplomatically, what does he plan to do about Venezuela's President Chavez,
and his close relationship with Fidel Castro.

MR. McCLELLAN: In terms of Latin America, this President has done a lot to
strengthen our relationships with countries throughout the Americas,
including in Latin America. And he will continue to build upon that. We had
a great summit in Monterrey not too long ago, where we put forward
initiatives to support efforts to strengthen democracies and the rule of
law and to fight corruption and to encourage transparency. And that was an
important meeting, an important way forward for the countries of the
Americas.

In terms of our relationships with individual countries, the President has
met with many leaders from the countries. We had a great meeting down in
Chile not too long ago in the APEC summit, and he had some individual
meetings with leaders from the region, including President Fox and
President Lagos of Chile. So the President looks forward to continuing to
strengthen our commitment to the Americas and expanding our diplomatic
efforts in that arena, as well.

Q Scott, this morning, discussing the Thursday speech, you talked about, on
the domestic front, he'll be talking about trusting people, empowering
people, not government, giving people more of a say over their own lives.
We know how he feels on Social Security, freeing up people to invest their
own money, your talk about home ownership. Where else, what other aspects
of life does the President --

MR. McCLELLAN: Expanding home ownership, that's -- as you just mentioned,
is one area. Giving people more of a say over their own retirement savings,
and you mentioned one area there, Social Security. Also giving people more
control over their health care and their health plans. The President has
talked about the importance of making sure that people can choose the kind
of health care that best fits their individual needs. We've taken some
steps in that area, in terms of strengthening and modernizing Medicare, so
that seniors have more options and choices. We trust people to make the
right decisions. This is about empowering people, not government. And
that's what the President -- the philosophy behind the President's
approach.

Q So is No Child Left Behind and expanding that to high schools go counter
to that? There certainly is an aspect to that in which government is more
involved.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, but at the same time, the government has expanded
flexibility for more local control. We've given school districts more
flexibility, but what we've said there is that we want to make sure that
there are high standards in place, and that we insist on results and
accountability. We want to make sure every child is learning. So that's the
way the President looks at the education system.

Q As a follow-up to that, usually inaugural addresses are flowery words,
and everything else, but will he mention some of these things specifically
by name in his address?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think you should look at the inaugural as a broader
thematic speech, that really outlines the principles and philosophy that
guide the agenda that the President is pursuing. And then the State of the
Union is coming up in early February, and that's a speech where it will be
a more detailed blueprint of how to implement the agenda that the President
has outlined.

Q So the word "Social Security" is not going to come up?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you'll be there to cover the speech, so stay tuned.
But this is -- I'm trying to point you in the right direction, that this is
really a speech that will lay out the philosophy and principles that guide
us, moving forward. And he'll talk about the ideals and values of America,
the ones that we hold so dearly, the ideals of self-governance and human
rights and human dignity for all, and the ideal of freedom and how freedom
is important to making the world -- advancing freedom is critical to making
the world a safer place and making America more secure.

Q Scott, a quick follow on that. When you talk about getting government out
of people's lives, and we tend to think people as people --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not saying, out of their lives. Government has an
important role to play. But we want people to have more control over their
lives.

Q Businesses also? Are we also talking about dereg -- should we also be
thinking in those realms, as opposed to individual's lives, the government
getting more --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think he's talking about people, individuals, is what the
President is referring to when we talk about building an ownership society
where people have more say over their health plans, where people have more
say over their own retirement savings and where people have more ownership
in society through home ownership, for instance.

Q What about getting government more out of business lives?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I'm telling you what the President is going to be
focusing on and talking about. I mean, we've talked about that, as well,
and about the excessive regulations that sometimes hamper small businesses
from creating jobs. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and
they're the job-creators of our economy.

Q Will that be referred to Thursday?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think that he'll refer specifically to that.

Q Scott, in a weekend newspaper interview the President said that he would
not be pushing the Senate this year to pass a constitutional marriage
amendment because the votes aren't there. I think it could be argued that
the votes aren't there yet, either for Social Security and immigration
reform. Why is he abandoning --

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me make clear what the President said and what the
President believes. The President will continue to advocate the need for a
constitutional amendment to protect the sanctity of marriage. It is
something he believes very strongly in. In fact, he has already spent a lot
of political capital on getting that initiative moving. But he's also -- in
his interview he also talked about the legislative reality in the Senate.
There really needs to be more of an openness in the Senate to be able to
spend more capital on moving it forward. But the President is going to
continue to make his views known and continue to talk about it and make
clear why he believes it is necessary.

Remember, in the Senate, you have to have 67 votes to move a constitutional
amendment forward. And there are a number of members of the Senate that
have said that they're not open to it until the Defense of Marriage Act
faces a serious legal challenge. So that's just talking about the
legislative reality. But he remains firmly committed to protecting the
sanctity of marriage and moving forward on a constitutional amendment.

Q But the legislative reality last year, when he announced his support for
the amendment, was that there were fewer Republicans in the Senate than
there are today and presumably less support for the issue. So did he not
think he had the support last year?

MR. McCLELLAN: I just said that he's going to continue to advocate the need
for a constitutional amendment. It's something he believes very strongly
in.

Q Were there votes there in the Senate last year, did the President
believe?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that was the beginning of getting the process moving
and talking about the need for a constitutional amendment. Since that time,
there are many members of the Senate who have made clear their views and
their lack of an openness to moving on it at this time. But we're going to
continue to encourage them to move forward on it. And I think it's
important for those who support this effort in the country to make it clear
that they want to take this step to protect the sanctity of marriage, as
well, and make those views known to members of Congress, too.

Q Thank you. As long as we're talking about the Senate, Senate Minority
Leader Harry Reid was on ABC yesterday and pretty much said that Democrats
aren't going to participate in the Social Security debate, they are not
going to approve the President's judges that he renominated that were
passed over in the previous session, and pretty much, it's more of the same
that we saw on Tom Daschle's leadership. How are you going to proceed to
get some of these big things accomplished?

MR. McCLELLAN: We were able to accomplish many big things in the first term
under this President's leadership. The President reached out to members on
both sides of the aisle to move forward on cutting taxes and getting our
economy growing. He reached out to members on both sides of the aisle to
move forward on historic education reforms, to make sure that every child
in America was able to learn and have the opportunity to succeed. And we're
continuing to implement many of those reforms. He reached out to members to
modernize Medicare, so that our seniors would have prescription drug
coverage under Medicare and so that they would have more choices to be able
to choose the kind of health care that best fits their individual needs.

So there are a number of areas we were able to achieve many big things on
in the first term. And we certainly came together to move forward in the
aftermath of the September 11th attacks, to take significant steps to win
the war on terrorism and protect the homeland.

And the President is going to -- this is a week when the President will
talk about the importance of coming together to work together to achieve
big things. This President believes in solving problems, not passing them
on to future generations -- he's made that very clear. And there are a
number of challenges we face and we need to address those challenges now,
not pass them on to future generations and let them get worse. We have an
obligation to lead. And at the same time, we have an obligation to work
together to try to achieve big things.

Q Harry Reid said that there is no crisis in Social Security, even though
the previous Democratic President, President Clinton, back in '98, said
that there was. How do you reconcile that position with --

MR. McCLELLAN: We talked a little bit about this last week, and we can
debate the word "crisis," but the reality is Social Security faces
fundamental structural problems. And they only get worse over time. And the
President is going to continue to talking about that. That's why we need to
act now, so that we strengthen Social Security for younger workers and
younger Americans. We want our children and grandchildren to be able to
build a nest egg of their own, and realize a greater rate of return on
their retirement savings. That's why personal retirement accounts are so
important to that. We can't ignore the demographic facts, the facts that
the number of workers paying into the system to support the number of
retirees is diminishing, and we need to address this problem now. And the
President is committed to doing it in a bipartisan way and working with
everyone who recognizes that we have an obligation to address problems.

Q Can I ask you, the eight Chinese workers abducted in Iraq, taken hostage,
are they employed by the U.S. military, or can foreign worker safety be
protected in Iraq?

MR. McCLELLAN: The safety and security of the American people is always at
the top of our list. The safety and security of foreign workers who are in
Iraq is a top priority of our coalition forces, as well as the Iraqi
security forces. There are security challenges that remain in the country.
We are partnering very closely with the interim government and with Iraqi
security forces to address these situations. We condemn the hostage-taking
or kidnapping of people who are there to help the Iraqi people realize a
better future. It's always a priority when people are taken hostage for,
obviously, the governments where those people are from, as well as the
international community, and that includes the United States.

Q Given the fact that Medicare's fiscal problems are far more immediate and
far more serious than Social Security's, why is Social Security getting all
the attention now?

MR. McCLELLAN: Here's why, and I think, actually -- I think I actually
talked about this last week. The President, I know, talked about it in one
of his recent interviews, as well. I believe it may have been with The
Washington Post and the distinguished gentleman up here in the second row.
But we just passed some historic improvements to Medicare for the first
time since it was really created back in the '60s. And it's important that
we focus on implementing those reforms to expand choice for our seniors and
make sure that they prescription drug coverage under Medicare.

There are some cost control measures that were passed as part of that, and
they were a step. There's more to do when it comes to modernizing and
strengthening Medicare. But we have already acted to pass some important
improvements to the program. And as we work to increase competition and
expand choice, that will address some of the cost issues. So we need to
focus on implementing those reforms and getting them in place for when
they're fully -- when that plan goes into full operation in 2006. But I
think we recognize there's more to do. On Social Security, we haven't taken
any steps to address it at this point. And that's why -- and for the
reasons I stated a little while ago is why we need to act on that.

Q -- recognize the prescription drug program was --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, and there are also some cost controls that were passed
as part of the legislation and that expanding competition will help address
some of the cost issues. And as we implement that over time, it will
address some of those issues, as well. But that was an important step. And
right now, we need to focus on implementing those reforms.

Q It appears Iran continues to keep playing cat and mouse games with the
IAEA, denying certain nuclear programs are underway, but denying access to
certain facilities. In 2005, will the President have a plan in place where
these negotiations will have to reach some kind of critical mass, excuse
the pun, before some kind of stronger measures are taken to make sure Iran
does not develop a full nuclear capability?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Iran has made some commitments, and they need to abide
by those commitments. We expect Iran to fully comply with its international
obligations and to fully comply with the International Atomic Energy
Agency. That's where our expectations are. We continue to work with our
European allies to find a diplomatic resolution to Iran's pursuit of
nuclear weapons. And they made some very clear commitments, and we will see
by their actions whether or not they are finally serious and willing to
follow through on those commitments. But we have a number of concerns about
Iran, including their pursuit of nuclear weapons and their interest in
longer-range ballistic missiles, and we've expressed those concerns. And
we'll continue working closely with the international community to address
these issues.

Q Thank you.

MR. McCLELLAN: Thank you.

END 12:57 P.M. EST

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