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Ärende: Press Release (070104) for Thu, 2007 Jan 4
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Press Briefing by Tony Snow
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 4, 2007

Press Briefing by Tony Snow
White House Conference Center Briefing Room

Press Briefing view


12:51 P.M. EST

MR. SNOW: Hello. A couple of business items before I take your questions.

As you now know from wire reports, Harriet Miers has tendered her
resignation as White House Legal Counsel, effective the 31st of this month.
She informed the President yesterday, and he has regretfully accepted her
resignation. We have copies of her letter available in lower press if you
need to get copies.

Q Why is she leaving?

MR. SNOW: She's been here for six years. It's hard duty. Yes, it really is.

Q So have some other people.

MR. SNOW: I know. Well, as I told you guys, one of the things that -- look,
Harriet is a very special person in this White House. She is beloved not
only because she is a really good human being, she's an extraordinarily
wonderful human being, but also somebody who is a very careful and
scrupulous lawyer, a ferocious defender of the Constitution, and somebody
who was also deeply loyal to the President, and just somebody who is a
delight to work with. So it is one of these things where everybody really
-- it's very bittersweet, and you can get that from the tenure of the --
tenor of her note. She has decided that it's time to move on. She and Josh
Bolten have had a series of conversations in recent days about this, and
she made her decision yesterday.

Harriet, with great regret, and a lot of people are going to miss her -- we
are fortunate that she's going to be around until the end of the month. We
do not have a successor. The search is, obviously, on. And one of the
things that she has cited -- she told senior staff today that she wants to
stay around until the 31st to make sure that she can do everything in her
power to make sure that the transition within the office is smooth.

Let me also add, I have nothing further to add today in the way of
personnel announcements. No details. And for those who are speculating
about any others within the White House proper, I am aware of none and
expect none. So just trying to take care of those questions before they
arise.

Q Is it White House burnout? Is that what you're just clearly saying, White
House burnout, after six years?

MR. SNOW: No, I'm just -- I'm not going to do a shorthand for it. I just
think, again, Harriet has decided it's time to move on. And I'll let you --
her letter is pretty eloquent, and I'll let you read it. And if you have
further questions, call me on it.

Also, the President today had about an hour-and-forty-five minute secure
video teleconference call with Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq. It was
scheduled for an hour, went for an hour-and-forty-five, about half of which
were the two leaders simply talking one-on-one with their translators.

They discussed the current situation in Iraq, including the execution of
Saddam Hussein. The President congratulated the Prime Minister on the
decision to -- perhaps, congratulations is probably not the proper term to
use. But he expressed that it was the right thing to do to investigate the
taping and behavior at the execution of Saddam Hussein. And the Prime
Minister agreed and said that the political parties were pained at the
filming and the release, and they were taking a look at punishing those
responsible.

They also noted that Saddam was a tyrant who killed hundreds of thousands.
And the Prime Minister noted that the most common reaction in Iraq was
jubilation that Saddam was no longer around, and also the end of any kind
of excuses for people who may hold out that, well, maybe Saddam will come
back.

It was expected that there would be small groups of Saddam supporters who
would, in fact, demonstrate. And so that was not unexpected. However, there
has been, according both to our folks over there and also to the Iraqis, no
increase in violence as a result of the execution.

They also spent a lot of time talking about the way forward in Iraq. The
President did not unveil a new way forward. He -- this is, again, another
consultative phone call. And they talked at great length about the most
important thing, which is winning. And they define winning the same way,
which is to have an Iraq, where the Iraqis themselves can sustain, govern,
and defend themselves, where they can handle the security operations. But
also there were conversations about economics. For instance, the
international compact. There was a lot of talk about political
reconciliation and the importance of that.

The Prime Minister stressed his determination to go after anybody
responsible for violence. That would include not only insurgent groups and
Saddam loyalists, but also militias within Iraq. And he expressed
confidence that his government is gaining greater capability -- not only on
the military side, but the governance side. And so that was kind of the
general gist of the conversation.

They also talked about the Prime Minister's plans for accelerating the
reconciliation process, some conversations about important pieces of
legislation that may be voted soon. And they're trying to work toward a
more stable trajectory within Iraq this year, and obviously they'll talk
again when they see fit.

Q Did they talk about the merits of increasing U.S. troops in Iraq?

MR. SNOW: They talked about various -- the one thing they -- they were
talking about the importance of having sufficient force within Baghdad to
create a stable situation within the city.

Q And did the President suggest that he was inclined to send more troops to
Baghdad?

MR. SNOW: The President and the Prime Minister exchanged ideas, but I'm not
going to get into details at that level.

Q Did the President press the Prime Minister on dealing with the Shiite
militias?

MR. SNOW: No, because it was unnecessary. The Prime Minister talked about
that without -- he brought the topic up. Now, I can't tell you, Bill, what
the two of them discussed privately because they've literally -- everybody
out of the room but the principals and their translators. And they had a
very long conversation. I don't know if further conversation about that
arose when the two of them were talking.

Q Well, does the President believe that progress is being made in
eliminating the hold of the militias?

MR. SNOW: He thinks it's important to take on the militias, and that's a
point that he made very clear. And the Prime Minister --

Q Yes, but does he think --

MR. SNOW: Well, at this point --

Q It doesn't appear that any progress has been made.

MR. SNOW: Well, the Prime Minister -- again, I'm not going to be -- I would
refer you to people in Baghdad at the embassy or even in the Iraqi
government for trying to characterize the situation on the ground there. I
think it's not something I'm equipped or prepared to do.

Q Did the President say he was disturbed by how the execution was carried
out with --

MR. SNOW: No, he simply said --

Q -- people shouting Moqtada?

MR. SNOW: No, he did not go into that detail. The President has not watched
the tape.

Q So he said nothing about that?

MR. SNOW: What he said is that -- he did not talk about the optics, he
simply said that it was the right thing to do, that there was concern in
this country and around the world about it, and that he thought that the
Prime Minister was doing the right thing by taking a look at it.

Q Did he say he was disturbed at all by what happened, and that it said
anything about the efforts the Maliki government is making for national
reconciliation?

MR. SNOW: No. But, again, the Prime Minister made it clear that he was
unhappy with what was going on, and he also made it clear that he considers
reconciliation, as I said yesterday, a very important objective and a very
important -- it's a necessity. And he talked about ways in which they're
continuing to pursue reconciliation within Iraq.

Q Tony, can we just -- as long as we're on personnel changes, The New York
Times which you referred us to yesterday --

MR. SNOW: Yes.

Q -- said a couple of days ago, that General Casey's departure might be
accelerated by the President. Is that true?

MR. SNOW: As I said, I'm not prepared to discuss any other personnel
matters today.

Q Is he happy with what General Casey is doing?

MR. SNOW: He respects what General Casey has done. And again, I'm going to
-- we will be happy to discuss other personnel matters at another time.

Q Would he like him to stay until summer?

MR. SNOW: Thank you, Martha.

Q I have another personnel question.

MR. SNOW: Okay.

Q Can you address reports --

MR. SNOW: Am I staying? Hope so.

Q Can you address the reports that Ambassador Negroponte is moving to
Deputy Secretary of State?

MR. SNOW: No.

Q Okay. (Laughter.) Has the President been pleased with Ambassador
Negroponte as DNI?

MR. SNOW: Yes.

Q How so?

Q Tony, did the other executions -- pending executions come up in the phone
call?

MR. SNOW: No, they didn't, Steve.

Look, John Negroponte has come in as the first head of DNI, and he's done a
very effective job of organizing and working within a brand new
intelligence apparatus. He's done a terrific job. And the President,
obviously, sees him five to six days a week with intel briefings and the
like, and the two of them have a close and respectful relationship. And the
President is very impressed with the work he's doing.

Q Tony, follow up to that?

MR. SNOW: Look, let me just -- I know you're all going to try to pull the
tails about these stories, and I'm just not in a position to do it.

Q Do you want to comment -- there's speculation that the reason that Mr.
Negroponte is going to move over to State is because Dr. Rice will leave in
several months and that he's in a position to take over. Do you want to say
anything about it?

MR. SNOW: No. But let me just -- let me try to do this. This will be some
subtle body language that should help you on this. You ready? (Head and eye
roll.) (Laughter.)

Q Anything on Maliki wants out? There were rumors --

MR. SNOW: No. There was -- there was no discussion of that and no
indication at all -- thank you, Helen -- no, there was no indication at all
on his part of any desire. As a matter of fact, the Prime Minister -- and
this continues a trend that we've seen -- is showing greater and greater
confidence not only in the mission, but the leadership in the government.
And what you see is somebody who, with each subsequent meeting, I think has
a greater sense of command and authority when he's talking about these
matters. So, no, we did not get any sense of that at all.

Q Tony, changing topics for a moment.

MR. SNOW: Wait -- is this same topic, or --

Q No, different.

MR. SNOW: Okay, then we'll --

Q On the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, the President had a
signing statement. And it says, "and the need for physical searches
specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection" -- and
this is in reference to times when mail, domestic mail can be opened. Is
the President trying to assert the same sort of authority that he asserted
for the NSA eavesdropping program?

MR. SNOW: Well, number one, what's described as an eavesdropping program
was a surveillance program that was narrowly targeted on al Qaeda or
affiliated members overseas having conversations with individuals that one
had reason to expect might be involved in such activities here in the
United States. So eavesdropping gives the sense that it's -- there's kind
of a random notion to listening in on innocent Americans. And that's
clearly wrong.

Secondly, there is nothing new here. What the President is arguing -- what
the signing statement indicates is what present law allows, and making it
clear what the provisions are within present law in terms of dealing with
some of these items.

Q There are some legal experts who've looked at this and say that the
exigent circumstances portion has always been in law.

MR. SNOW: Right.

Q If they feel that there's a bomb in the letter, some danger.

MR. SNOW: Correct.

Q But what's new is the need for physical searches specifically authorized
by foreign intelligence collection. And people we've talked to say there is
no law that specifically deals with that aspect. So I'm wondering if the
President views his executive power as he did in the -- I'll use your words
-- terrorist surveillance program is the same here when it comes to mail in
the United States?

MR. SNOW: Again, it says "physical searches specifically authorized by law
for foreign intelligence collection." What the experts seem to have
bracketed out is the specifically authorized by law as it applies to that
provision. All this is saying is that there are provisions at law for -- in
exigent circumstances for such inspections. It has been thus. This is not a
change in the law. This is not new. It is not as was described in one paper
a "sweeping new power" by the President. It is, in fact, merely a statement
of present law and present authorities granted to the President of the
United States.

Q But he feels necessary to state it.

MR. SNOW: That often happens. You find that within signing statements, as
I've said many times, these are either designed to clarify the law, or if
they're constitutional problems, to try to elicit, A, what those problems
may be so that the White House and the executive branch may effectively
execute the laws that have been passed by Congress.

Q Is it a constitutional problem?

MR. SNOW: No, this is not a constitutional problem. I've just laid out the
general benchmarks. This is one of them, trying to make absolutely clear
what present law permits.

Q On another subject, Iraq plans. Has the President signed any order
calling for additional U.S. troops?

MR. SNOW: No, he hasn't.

Q And is it accurate -- is the White House position that he still has not
taken an official position on whether or not he's sending more U.S. troops?

MR. SNOW: That is correct.

Q And where is the President in terms of the process? You said he has more
consultations --

MR. SNOW: Yes, I think we're getting pretty close. Yes, there are still, I
think, a few consultations ahead. But I think the President is -- I hate to
be -- this is terribly vague, but he is narrowing down. I think he has a
pretty clear sense of where he wants to go, but he also still wants to make
sure that he's looked at this from every angle, and that he's done the
consultations. He's been thorough in his consultations. And so we're not
there yet, but I think it's getting pretty close.

Q Does he have a deadline, Tony?

MR. SNOW: No. No.

Q And when the White House does these courtesy calls to members of
Congress, is there going to be some sort of process where you'll brief the
media at the same time? Do you know -- have you figured out how that is
going to work?

MR. SNOW: No. We will try to make notifications -- I think one of the
things -- a lot of times, this, for instance, is the case sometimes with
personnel matters -- it's important to make sure that members of Congress
are apprised early on. Members of Congress don't like to be reading about
leaks in newspapers, they want to be consulted and informed in due time.
And so I think that's one of the things -- members of Congress especially
on key committees will certainly be the first to be contacted. But we, I
promise you, will not leave you out.

Q Can you tell us if it's primetime?

MR. SNOW: No, I can't. No, I can't.

Q I mean, if it's such an important speech that the --

MR. SNOW: I understand. We'll release details when we're ready.

Q Back to the consultations. Is the White House still consulting with
members of --

MR. SNOW: Well, today -- frankly what we're doing today is we're standing
back. The new Congress just began business a little more than an hour ago,
and I think this is a day when the new leaders are, rightfully, getting a
lot of attention. And so --

Q -- consulting tomorrow, then?

MR. SNOW: There will be some consultations, and I don't know what the
precise schedule is, but my guess is there will still be some more
discussion.

Q Tony, can you discuss what's going to be on the agenda tonight with
Merkel? Is it going to be Iran sanctions or --

MR. SNOW: No. I don't want to say "no" so directly because it may come up,
but there are a whole series of things that are likely to arise. Chancellor
Merkel is in a unique spot, as President of both the G8 and the EU this
year. And so there are a series of conversations -- a lot of it is going to
be on economics. Recently, with Secretary Paulson, she discussed the
transatlantic economic partnership; the idea is to integrate the EU and
U.S. economies more thoroughly on issues like regulation, standards,
international property, other issues. Obviously we're interested in trade.

The Chancellor has -- apparently, there have been some news stories that
the Chancellor might want to talk about global warming and climate change
in a post-Kyoto environment. The President has been pretty forward-leaning
in conversations with Chancellor Merkel and others about his support for
being able to supply energy needs in a way that's friendly to the
environment and does not raise problems with global warming.

Among other things, he's talked about nuclear power, clean coal technology.
The President has committed $11 billion in clean-coal tax credits. He's
talked about multilateral and -- multilateral cooperation on renewable
energy sources. And I've been present when he's talked about that with
leaders in Europe, and he continues to do that.

On the international front, there are a host of issues: Israel and
Palestine is one; Syria, Lebanon, another; Iran and Afghanistan, clearly,
are going to be on the table, as well as relations with other nations. So
Doha Trade Round might come up, as well.

It's hard to say -- you know what's interesting is because the President
and Chancellor Merkel have such a close relationship, my guess is this is
going to be a bit like the meetings with Tony Blair or Koizumi where they
tend to sort of assume -- they're going to go from topic to topic, and
they're going to talk about whatever is top of mind.

You're smirking. I don't like that. Don't go there. Don't go there.
(Laughter.)

Q Will they take questions after?

MR. SNOW: There will be -- yes, there will. We'll have a two and two.

Q Tony --

MR. SNOW: Yes, go ahead.

Q Two questions. One, what President think about Reverend Pat Robertson who
said that U.S. might be again attacked middle of --

MR. SNOW: I'm not aware that the President has given it a lot of thought.

Q Second, as far as this new Congress is concerned, there will be -- the
President might bring out, again, this immigration bill. There's a call
from the battered women around the country -- there are so many battered
women in the name of immigration. What President do you think that he will
have some better system as far as those battered women in this country?

MR. SNOW: What kind of -- about battered women. Well, A, it's against the
law, B, it's --

Q They bring them here, promise them green card or citizenship or visa, and
then they are -- become battered women.

MR. SNOW: Goyal, my friend, they come here as a green card and then they're
battered, is that what you're saying? So people who come here unbattered
and --

Q People bring them here and promise them --

MR. SNOW: Well, look, you have a President who has been pretty outspoken on
the abuse of women around the world, whether it be for sex trafficking or
abuses against women within this country. So without having any specific
idea of precisely what you're trying to get at, within American law that's
illegal, and it's something that the President finds especially offensive
and obviously it ought to be prosecuted.

Q Just to follow, but they're not getting much out of this -- justice or
help -- because what they are doing --

MR. SNOW: Goyal, you have just asked me a global question about a
theoretical universe for which I have no specific incidents to respond to,
and therefore, I can't give you anything other than an answer that's so
general it's not going to satisfy you. So if you can come up with something
more precise for me, I'd love to help. Obviously the issue of battered
women is something that, rightfully, outrages everybody.

Kelly.

Q Back to the Maliki conversation. Although you've told us the President
has not seen the video, he has been fully briefed on the nature of the
concern, about the taunting, things that were said --

MR. SNOW: Yes.

Q Does he believe that the way that was handled is in any way an example of
the Maliki government not having control over the institution --

MR. SNOW: No. No, and I think what you're seeing is the Prime Minister
asserting control immediately, because he clearly was unhappy with it, as
well. And he made it absolutely clear -- the phrase he used, again, I think
is -- he said it was pained, the government was pained, and that they were
going to punish those responsible. That seems to me to be the reaction of
somebody who was surprised by what he saw and unhappy upon seeing it.

Q Does the President see that as a setback to the forming of institutions
that are necessary --

MR. SNOW: Again, if you take a look at what's been going on, the Prime
Minister indicates that there does not seem to have been a rise in acts of
violence or other sorts of activities within Iraq as a result of this, but
he also understands the importance of reconciliation. And one of the
interesting things is this does remove one of the arguments people have
made, about what if Saddam comes back.

It also creates -- not the video, but the fact that in that part of the
world, a tyrant who killed hundreds of thousands with impunity and never
was punished, to see a man brought to justice, granted the trial that he
would not grant his fellow citizens, given an appeal that nobody ever got,
and getting treated -- and being able to have full access to law, and being
lawfully executed after legal processes that had passed international
muster, that's a powerful signal that the rule of law does apply within
Iraq.

Q Concerns are not about Saddam's conduct. It's about the carrying out of
justice in the final moments --

MR. SNOW: And the point I made yesterday is that there is -- at least among
the American press, the fascination with the final moments and the
relatively less description of the first 69 years.

Q It's not about Saddam.

MR. SNOW: There's -- well, no, of course, it's about Saddam.

Q It's not about Saddam. It's about the carrying out of justice, and was he
subjected to circumstances that are not in line with what the U.S. is
hoping Iraq will do in an execution?

MR. SNOW: Well, again, look, the Iraqis have made that point, Kelly. How
many times do I have to point it out? The Prime Minister is unhappy with
it.

Q But you resort to talking about Saddam. And our questions are really
about the President's view of how this was handled.

MR. SNOW: I know. And as I've told you, the President thought it was
appropriate to do a review. And the Prime Minister is doing a review. And I
think we leave it at that.

Q Tony, on Maliki -- really quick -- you said that the President did not
lay the new way forward out in this call.

MR. SNOW: Right, right.

Q Will the Prime Minister be consulted before the President lays out his
new way forward?

MR. SNOW: Well, look, they talked about a lot of ideas. And I don't want to
give the impression that the President didn't raise some things that are on
his mind, he did. But on the other hand, anything that is going to take
place will be in cooperation with the Iraqis, because one of the key
elements of anything is transferring authority to the Iraqis. And we've
talked about hastening their authority within combat units.

Q But this was the last call before the speech?

MR. SNOW: Maybe, maybe not.

Q Also on Maliki, you said that they talked about the importance of having
sufficient force within Baghdad. Do they agree on what that level of force
is, or the --

MR. SNOW: I'm not going to get into specific conversations about what they
did -- the most important take-away is that they both have the same
definition of victory, and they both have the same determination to win.
And that was something that was, I think, reassuring to both because it
gives them the ability now to work together and figure out practically the
best way to achieve their goal.

Q In looking for a new White House counsel, how big a factor will the
prospect of Democratic investigations be?

MR. SNOW: Well, look, you've seen, David, this week we have spent a lot of
time talking about the importance of cooperation. And we still do. And we
think there is an opportunity for this Congress to do a lot. And if some
members within the Democratic Party decide that they want to engage in
political acts of that sort, we will certainly be prepared. But in the case
of Harriet, she's been here six years.

Q I'm not talking about any replacement, although this town is full of
lawyers who specialize in dealing with --

MR. SNOW: We're not interested in acts of provocation. We are working on
cooperation and trying to figure out ways in which this Congress and this
President can reassure the American public that Washington, D.C. can
sometimes be a place of accomplishment.

Q Let's put it this way, what do you think the President will be looking
for in a new lawyer?

MR. SNOW: Well, why don't we just find out when you hear the new lawyer,
and then I'll let that person's qualifications speak for themselves.

Let me get -- yes, Mark.

Q Back to the -- just to follow on Roger's question. What I think he was
getting at is the phone call -- the next phone calls that lawmakers get on
Iraq, will they be to inform them on the plan, or is it still --

MR. SNOW: I think there are still going to be some conversations. I think
-- yes.

Q -- out their views at this -- even at this --

MR. SNOW: There are going to be some discussions.

Q Tony, two questions on Iraq. Since the President hasn't called or ordered
any troops, does this mean he's going to overlap troops, sending in troops
early and keeping -- holding troops that are already there? Don't laugh.
It's a real question, Tony.

MR. SNOW: I know, but what you want me to do is spread out the map and show
you all sorts of plans, and I can't do that, April. I just can't talk about
operational matters. I will leave that to the President.

Q Is that in play, though? Is that one of the options --

MR. SNOW: I'm not even -- look, they've tried it, you've now tried it. I
just -- I can't be in a position of trying to tell you what operational
matters are. I'll leave that to the President.

Yes.

Q Next question on Iraq. The handlers of the hanging, has it been concluded
that this was a Shia lynch mob, because they had no allegiance to Iraq? In
their statements, what they were saying, they were not talking about Iraq.
They were talking about al Sadr's father. And it's --

MR. SNOW: Who was -- who was killed by Saddam Hussein.

Q But it wasn't about Iraq.

MR. SNOW: I -- April, I don't even -- I'm not sure I can understand the
question, therefore, I can't answer it.

Q Has it been proven that this was a Shia lynch mob that killed Saddam
Hussein?

MR. SNOW: No. But again, I would refer -- this is -- these are questions
most properly raised with the Iraqi government, which is conducting its own
investigation. But for me to render a summary, let alone inflammatory
comments about what went on would be inappropriate.

Q Did you at least watch the tape where they were making the comments?

MR. SNOW: I have -- I've seen that part, yes.

Q You mentioned one of the topics tonight is Kyoto Protocol?

MR. SNOW: Yes.

Q Well, only Australia and the United States have not signed off on that.
And given the reports that are coming out about global warming happening
quicker than initially anticipated, many scientists are saying even the
Kyoto Protocol is not tough enough, and that the timetable in that is not
soon enough. So given that, is the White House at all at least
reconsidering its own timetable on when --

MR. SNOW: This administration has been very aggressive -- I'm sorry, go
ahead, Paula. I just wanted to go ahead --

Q No, I mean is the White House at all reconsidering its own 2012 timetable
as perhaps not being soon enough to have a turning point in greenhouse gas
emissions?

MR. SNOW: Look, what you're talking about is a global problem. And one of
the weaknesses in Kyoto was the fact that a number of key players,
especially key consumers of carbon products, were not even involved or
anticipated. And therefore, whatever "progress" you have may be spoiled by
developments elsewhere in the world. And what you need is something that's
going to be a little more effective on a global scale.

The United States has been leading the way in terms of dealing with
emissions problems and continues to. And the President has been the most
forceful advocate in the history of this country for looking for
alternative fuel sources. The previous administration did submit Kyoto to a
vote. It lost by 95 to nothing, and at that point was dropped.

This administration believes that it's important to try to find ways of
cleaning the environment without wrecking the economy. And that is not, in
fact, a false choice, it is the fundamental choice. And with the emphasis
on innovation and using market forces -- and certainly there are powerful
incentives for people to do things cleanly -- we will encourage every
development we possibly can.

Q So with respect to environmental and economic consequences, as you know,
Prime Minister Tony Blair backed the Stern Report, which predicts dire
consequences in both the environment and the economy, if this is not turned
around.

MR. SNOW: I know, Paula. And now you're getting into a scientific debate
where we can swap sources and neither of us will have the acumen to be able
to back it up. There are plenty of people who will -- there are plenty of
assessments on the Stern report, for and against. And I must freely confess
it is beyond my competence as a humble press secretary to try to pretend
that I'm an effective scientist on this. I think we're chasing our tails on
this one.

The President does care about the environment, has been active and
aggressive on it, and has been talking with European allies about such
things as clean coal technology, about renewable fuels, biofuels. He has
talked about any number of -- clean coal, the nukes, the whole bit. And
certainly those are areas of concern. They're going to continue to be.
Look, we want to find an environmentally responsible way to have green
economies throughout the world so that you can have freedom and you can
have your --

Q One follow-up, though. Why does the Prime Minister feel the United States
needs to take the lead?

MR. SNOW: The United States is taking the lead.

Q If I could follow up on that, on Paula's. In the wake of the Wall Street
Journal's --

MR. SNOW: Phone call. Oh, I'm sorry, it was a teleconference.

Q In the wake of the remarks Prime Minister Maliki made in the Wall Street
Journal in that interview, do you know whether he and President expressed
-- exchanged any -- how long did the Prime Minister --

MR. SNOW: No -- Helen asked that question -- no, it not only didn't come
up, it really -- Prime Minister Maliki did not, in any way, shape or form,
act like somebody who's weary of his job. As a matter of fact, as I said,
this is somebody who seems to be getting a greater sense of command and
confidence with each passing meeting, and it was something that the
President did comment on after the meeting. So, as I said, the two of them
felt comfortable enough that they booted the rest of us out of the room for
half of it. So I think there's now one of those levels of confidence the
President has with a number of leaders where he feels that the most
productive conversations sometimes are the ones that they have one-on-one.

And I really -- I got no sense at all of that. It did not come up, nor did
the circumstances or the tone of the conversation seem to reflect it.

Q Thank you, Tony. Two questions. There's a news report quoting the
Secretary of HUD, Jackson, as saying that "Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and
Julian Bond have created an industry. If we don't become victims, they have
no income. White folks have nothing to do with the fact that seven out of
every 10 black children born in this country are born out of wedlock and we
have more black males in prison than we do in college." And my question:
Does the President disagree with this statement by his Secretary of HUD?

MR. SNOW: Don't know, but one of the things he did talk about is the
importance of building within all Americans a system where you have fewer
out-of-wedlock births, because the research is pretty clear that when you
do have intact households you have better results and fewer problems in the
long run with children; that everybody deserves access to a first-rate
school; that there should not be schools -- public schools should be of
high quality, no matter how much your parents may earn; and that the most
important way to dignity is through work, which is an attitude that has
been shared by Democratic and Republican administrations.

Q The top of page one of this morning's Washington Times has a headline,
"Cindy Sheehan routs the Democrats; House Majority Leaders run, hide." Do
you, as the President's Press Secretary, believe that this headline is
inaccurate?

MR. SNOW: Lester, I find it entertaining.

Q Tony, the German Chancellor says she wants to call a Middle East Quartet
meeting as soon as practical, and says she has Russia's support for that.
Does she have the United States' support for that?

MR. SNOW: It will be discussed. I'll give you a readout. I mean, I think
one of the things that we want to do is to encourage in every way possible
effective movement toward a two-state solution. The Quartet conditions are
the backbone of that, obviously, making sure that you've got a Palestinian
negotiating partner that renounces violence, that believes in meeting all
treaty obligations, and acknowledges Israel's right to exist. Chancellor
Merkel has spoken with the leaders in the region. And so I think we'll have
to find out what she has to say.

Q Subtle body language on Negroponte stepping down as DNI?

MR. SNOW: I will not engage in subtle body language, but you guys may see
more of me off camera.

Q Just to follow on Negroponte. We didn't see him in Crawford participating
in that meeting with the President.

MR. SNOW: Yes, don't read -- that's reading too much --

Q Did he participate at all with the National Security Council meeting with
the President when he was talking about his new Iraq strategy?

MR. SNOW: I was not party to the meeting. I don't know. That was last week
you're talking about?

Q Yes.

MR. SNOW: Gordon, was -- do you know if --

MR. JOHNDROE: He's been in a number of them.

MR. SNOW: Yes, he's a regular actor. I think -- let me put it this way. Any
attempt to read presence or lack thereof at Crawford into any kind of
assessment of John Negroponte as DNI Director is not only a stretch, it's
just going down the wrong road.

Q Well, not too much like a commentary on his abilities, but just whether
or not -- I mean, the head of intelligence, it would have been important to
have him in that meeting --

MR. SNOW: But he is -- look, he --

Q -- you had the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of
State. Does that, in some way, reflect a diminished role for the
intelligence community, and --

MR. SNOW: No, by no means at all. Keep in mind that the Director of
National Intelligence is in briefing the President on a daily basis and has
the trust and confidence of the President of the United States. So, no, I
just -- like I said, you're barking up the wrong tree on that one. I know a
lot of people have been trying to read something into it. But, no.

Q Tony, there hasn't been a deputy since May of 2006 at DNI.

MR. SNOW: At DNI or --

Q I mean at --

MR. SNOW: At State?

Q No, no. At -- under Negroponte at DNI.

MR. SNOW: Oh, okay.

Q When Hayden left for CIA, there was a vacancy there.

MR. SNOW: Okay.

Q You're not going to talk about personnel announcements today, but is
there a concern --

MR. SNOW: I'm especially not going to talk about that one, because I don't
know--

Q -- is there a concern about leaving posts vacant before the confirmation
is completed?

MR. SNOW: I said, stay tuned.

Yes, April. Last one.

Q Is this nation ready for a black or female President, be it Democrat or
Republican?

MR. SNOW: Of course. (Laughter.)

END 1:28 P.M. EST
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