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Skriven 2004-11-04 23:35:02 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0411045) for Thu, 2004 Nov 4
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President Holds Press Conference
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 4, 2004

President Holds Press Conference



President's Remarks
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11:17 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Yesterday I pledged to
reach out to the whole nation, and today I'm proving that I'm willing to
reach out to everybody by including the White House press corps.

This week the voters of America set the direction of our nation for the
next four years. I'm honored by the support of my fellow citizens, and I'm
ready for the job.

We are fighting a continuing war on terror, and every American has a stake
in the outcome of this war. Republicans, Democrats and independents all
love our country, and together we'll protect the American people. We will
preserve -- we will persevere until the enemy is defeated. We will stay
strong and resolute. We have a duty, a solemn duty to protect the American
people, and we will.

Every civilized country also has a stake in the outcome of this war.
Whatever our past disagreements, we share a common enemy. And we have
common duties: to protect our peoples, to confront disease and hunger and
poverty in troubled regions of the world. I'll continue to reach out to our
friends and allies, our partners in the EU and NATO, to promote development
and progress, to defeat the terrorists and to encourage freedom and
democracy as alternatives to tyranny and terror.

I also look forward to working with the present Congress and the new
Congress that will arrive in January. I congratulate the men and women who
have just been elected to the House and the Senate. I will join with old
friends and new friends to make progress for all Americans.

Congress will return later this month to finish this current session. I
urge members to pass the appropriations bill that remain, showing spending
discipline while focusing on our nation's priorities. Our government also
needs the very best intelligence, especially in a time of war. So I urge
the Congress to pass an effective intelligence reform bill that I can sign
into law.

The new Congress that begins its work next year will have serious
responsibilities and historic opportunities. To accelerate the momentum of
this economy and to keep creating jobs, we must take practical measures to
help our job creators, the entrepreneurs and the small business owners. We
must confront the frivolous lawsuits that are driving up the cost of health
care and hurting doctors and patients. We must continue the work of
education reform, to bring high standards and accountability not just to
our elementary and secondary schools, but to our high schools, as well.

We must reform our complicated and outdated tax code. We need to get rid of
the needless paperwork that makes our economy -- that is a drag on our
economy, to make sure our economy is the most competitive in the world.

We must show our leadership by strengthening Social Security for our
children and our grandchildren. This is more than a problem to be solved;
it is an opportunity to help millions of our fellow citizens find security
and independence that comes from owning something, from ownership.

In the election of 2004, large issues were set before our country. They
were discussed every day on the campaign. With the campaign over, Americans
are expecting a bipartisan effort and results. I'll reach out to everyone
who shares our goals. And I'm eager to start the work ahead. I'm looking
forward to serving this country for four more years.

I want to thank you all for your hard work in the campaign. I told you that
the other day, and you probably thought I was just seeking votes.
(Laughter.) But now that you voted, I really meant it. I appreciate the
hard work of the press corps. We all put in long hours, and you're away
from your families for a long period of time. But the country is better off
when we have a vigorous and free press covering our elections. And thanks
for your work. Without over-pandering, I'll answer a few questions.
(Laughter.)

Hunt.

Q Mr. President -- thank you. As you look at your second term, how much is
the war in Iraq going to cost? Do you intend to send more troops, or bring
troops home? And in the Middle East, more broadly, do you agree with Tony
Blair that revitalizing the Middle East peace process is the single most
pressing political issue facing the world?

THE PRESIDENT: Now that I've got the will of the people at my back, I'm
going to start enforcing the one-question rule. That was three questions.
(Laughter.)

I'll start with Tony Blair's comments. I agree with him that the Middle
East peace is a very important part of a peaceful world. I have been
working on Middle Eastern peace ever since I've been the President. I've
laid down some -- a very hopeful strategy on -- in June of 2002, and my
hope is that we will make good progress. I think it's very important for
our friends, the Israelis, to have a peaceful Palestinian state living on
their border. And it's very important for the Palestinian people to have a
peaceful, hopeful future. That's why I articulated a two-state vision in
that Rose Garden speech. I meant it when I said it and I mean it now.

What was the other part of your question?

Q Iraq.

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, Iraq, yes. Listen, we will work with the Allawi
government to achieve our objective, which is elections, on the path to
stability, and we'll continue to train the troops. Our commanders will have
that which they need to complete their missions.

And in terms of the cost, I -- we'll work with OMB and the Defense
Department to bring forth to Congress a realistic assessment of what the
cost will be.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. How will you go about bringing people together?
Will you seek a consensus candidate for the Supreme Court if there's an
opening? Will you bring some Democrats into your Cabinet?

THE PRESIDENT: Again, he violated the one-question rule right off the bat.
Obviously, you didn't listen to the will of the people. But, first of all,
there's no vacancy for the Supreme Court, and I will deal with a vacancy
when there is one. And I told the people on the campaign trail that I'll
pick somebody who knows the difference between personal opinion and the
strict interpretation of the law. You might have heard that several times.
I meant what I said. And if people are interested in knowing the kind of
judges I'll pick, look at the record. I've sent up a lot of judges,
well-qualified people who know the law, who represent a judicial
temperament that I agree with and who are qualified to hold the bench.

The second part of your two-part question?

Q Any Democrats to your Cabinet, by any chance?

THE PRESIDENT: I haven't made any decisions on the Cabinet, yet.

Q How else will you bring people together?

THE PRESIDENT: We'll put out an agenda that everybody understands and work
with people to achieve the agenda. Democrats want a free and peaceful
world, and we'll -- and right away, right after September the 11th we
worked very closely together to secure our country. There is a common
ground to be had when it comes to a foreign policy that says the most
important objective is to protect the American people and spread freedom
and democracy. It's common ground when it comes to making sure the
intelligence services are able to provide good, actionable intelligence to
protect our people. It's not a Republican issue, it's a Republican and
Democrat issue. So I'm -- plenty of places for us to work together.

All right, Gregory.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. On foreign policy, more broadly, do you believe
that America has an image problem in the world right now, because of your
efforts and response to the 9/11 attacks? And, as you talked down the
stretch about building alliances, talk about what you'll do to build on
those alliances and to deal with these image problems, particularly in the
Islamic world.

THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that. Listen, I've made some very hard
decisions: decisions to protect ourselves, decisions to spread peace and
freedom. And I understand in certain capitals and certain countries, those
decisions were not popular.

You know, you said -- you asked me to put that in the context of the
response on September the 11th. The first response, of course, was chasing
down the terror networks, which we will continue to do. And we've got great
response around the world in order to do that. There's over 90 nations
involved with sharing information, finding terrorists and bringing them to
justice. That is a broad coalition, and we'll continue to strengthen it.

I laid out a doctrine, David, that said if you harbor terrorists, you're
equally as guilty as the terrorists, and that doctrine was ignored by the
Taliban, and we removed the Taliban. And I fully understand some people
didn't agree with that decision. But I believe that when the American
President speaks, he'd better mean what he says in order to keep the world
peaceful. And I believe we have a solemn duty, whether or not people agree
with it or not, to protect the American people. And the Taliban and their
harboring of al Qaeda represented a direct threat to the American people.

And, of course, then the Iraq issue is one that people disagreed with. And
there's no need to rehash my case, but I did so, I made the decision I
made, in order to protect our country, first and foremost. I will continue
to do that as the President. But as I do so, I will reach out to others and
explain why I make the decisions I make.

There is a certain attitude in the world, by some, that says that it's a
waste of time to try to promote free societies in parts of the world. I've
heard that criticism. Remember, I went to London to talk about our vision
of spreading freedom throughout the greater Middle East. And I fully
understand that that might rankle some, and be viewed by some as folly. I
just strongly disagree with those who do not see the wisdom of trying to
promote free societies around the world.

If we are interested in protecting our country for the long-term, the best
way to do so is to promote freedom and democracy. And I -- I simply do not
agree with those who either say overtly or believe that certain societies
cannot be free. It's just not a part of my thinking. And that's why during
the course of the campaign, I was -- I believe I was able to connect, at
least with those who were there, in explaining my policy, when I talked
about the free election in Afghanistan.

There were -- there was doubt about whether or not those elections would go
forward. I'm not suggesting any of you here expressed skepticism. But there
was. There was deep skepticism, and -- because there is a attitude among
some that certain people may never be free -- they just don't long to be
free or incapable of running an election. And I disagree with that. And the
Afghan people, by going to the polls in the millions, proved -- proved that
this administration's faith in freedom to change peoples' habits is worthy.
And that will be a central part of my foreign policy. And I've got work to
do to explain to people about why that is a central part of our foreign
policy. I've been doing that for four years.

But if you do not believe people can be free and can self-govern, then all
of a sudden the two-state solution in the Middle East becomes a moot point,
invalid. If you're willing to condemn a group of people to a system of
government that hasn't worked, then you'll never be able to achieve the
peace. You cannot lead this world and our country to a better tomorrow
unless you see a better -- if you have a vision of a better tomorrow. And
I've got one, based upon a great faith that people do want to be free and
live in democracy.

John, and then I'll get to Terry. No follow-ups today, Gregory.

Q Thank you, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: I can see one -- yes.

Q Would you like it? Now that the political volatility is off the issue
because the election is over, I'd like to ask you about troop levels in
Iraq in the next couple of months leading up to elections. The Pentagon
already has a plan to extend tours of duty for some 6,500 U.S. troops. How
many more will be needed to provide security in Iraq for elections, seeing
as how the Iraqi troops that you're trying to train up are pretty slow
coming on line?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, first of all, the -- we are making good progress in
training the Iraqi troops. There will be 125,000 of them trained by
election time. Secondly, I have yet to -- I have not sat down with our
Secretary of Defense talking about troop levels. I read some reports during
the course of the campaign where some were speculating in the press corps
about the number of troops needed to protect elections. That has not been
brought to my attention yet.

And so I would caution you that what you have either read about or reported
was pure speculation thus far. These elections are important, and we will
respond, John, to requests of our commanders on the ground. And I have yet
to hear from our commanders on the ground that they need more troops.

Terry.

Q Mr. President, your victory at the polls came about in part because of
strong support from people of faith, in particular, Christian evangelicals
and Pentecostals and others. And Senator Kerry drew some of his strongest
support from those who do not attend religious services. What do you make
of this religious divide, it seems, becoming a political divide in this
country? And what do you say to those who are concerned about the role of a
faith they do not share in public life and in your policies?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, my answer to people is, I will be your President
regardless of your faith, and I don't expect you to agree with me
necessarily on religion. As a matter of fact, no President should ever try
to impose religion on our society.

A great -- the great tradition of America is one where people can worship
the way they want to worship. And if they choose not to worship, they're
just as patriotic as your neighbor. That is an essential part of why we are
a great nation. And I am glad people of faith voted in this election. I'm
glad -- I appreciate all people who voted. I don't think you ought to read
anything into the politics, the moment, about whether or not this nation
will become a divided nation over religion. I think the great thing that
unites is the fact you can worship freely if you choose, and if you -- you
don't have to worship. And if you're a Jew or a Christian or a Muslim,
you're equally American. That is -- that is such a wonderful aspect of our
society; and it is strong today and it will be strong tomorrow.

Jim.

Q Thank you, sir. Mr. President, you talked once again this morning about
private accounts in Social Security. During the campaign you were accused
of planning to privatize the entire system. It has been something you've
discussed for some time. You've lost some of the key Democratic proponents,
such as Pat Moynihan and Bob Kerrey in the Congress. How will you proceed
now with one of the key problems, which is the transition cost -- which
some say is as much as $2 trillion -- how will you proceed on that? And how
soon?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first, I made Social Security an issue -- for those of
you who had to suffer through my speeches on a daily basis; for those of
you who actually listened to my speeches on a daily basis -- you might
remember, every speech I talked about the duty of an American President to
lead. And we have -- we must lead on Social Security because the system is
not going to be whole for our children and our grandchildren.

And so the answer to your second question is, we'll start on Social
Security now. We'll start bringing together those in Congress who agree
with my assessment that we need to work together. We've got a good
blueprint, a good go-by. You mentioned Senator Moynihan. I had asked him
prior to his -- to his passing, to chair a committee of notable Americans
to come up with some ideas on Social Security. And they did so. And it's a
good place for members of Congress to start.

The President must have the will to take on the issue -- not only in the
campaign, but now that I'm elected. And this will -- reforming Social
Security will be a priority of my administration. Obviously, if it were
easy it would have already been done. And this is going to be hard work to
bring people together and to make -- to convince the Congress to move
forward. And there are going to be costs. But the cost of doing nothing is
insignificant to -- is much greater than the cost of reforming the system
today. That was the case I made on the campaign trail, and I was earnest
about getting something done. And as a matter of fact, I talked to members
of my staff today, as we're beginning to plan to -- the strategy to move
agendas forward about how to do this and do it effectively.

Q If I could, Mr. President --

THE PRESIDENT: Yes -- no, no, you're violating the follow-up rule. It would
hurt Gregory's feelings. King.

It's a new --

Q Mr. President, thank you.

Q That's always one of my concerns.

THE PRESIDENT: Hurting Gregory's feelings? He is a sensitive guy. Well
centered, though. (Laughter.)

Q I'm not going there. Mr. President, you were disappointed, even angry 12
years ago when the voters denied your father a second term. I'm interested
in your thoughts and the conversation with him yesterday as you were
walking to the Oval Office, and also whether you feel more free to do any
one thing in a second term that perhaps you were politically constrained
from doing in a first.

THE PRESIDENT: At 3:30 a.m. in the morning on, I guess, it was the day
after the election, he was sitting upstairs, and I finally said, go to bed.
He was awaiting the outcome and was hopeful that we would go over and be
able to talk to our supporters, and it just didn't happen that way.

So I asked him the next morning when he got up, I said, come by the Oval
Office and visit. And he came by and we had a good talk. He was heading
down to Houston. And it was -- there was some uncertainty about that
morning as to when the election would actually end. And it wasn't clear at
that point in time, so I never got to see him face-to-face to watch his, I
guess, pride in his tired eyes as his son got a second term.

I did talk to him and he was relieved. I told him to get a nap. I was
worried about him staying up too late.

But -- so I haven't had a chance to really visit and embrace. And you're
right, '92 was a disappointment. But he taught me a really good lesson,
that life moves on. And it's very important for those of us in the
political arena, win or lose, to recognize that life is bigger than just
politics, and that's one of the really good lessons he taught me.

Q Do you feel more free, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, in terms of feeling free, well, I don't think you'll let
me be too free. There's accountability and there are constraints on the
presidency, as there should be in any system. I feel -- I feel it is
necessary to move an agenda that I told the American people I would move.
Something refreshing about coming off an election, even more refreshing
since we all got some sleep last night, but there's -- you go out and you
make your case, and you tell the people this is what I intend to do. And
after hundreds of speeches and three debates and interviews and the whole
process, where you keep basically saying the same thing over and over
again, that when you win, there is a feeling that the people have spoken
and embraced your point of view, and that's what I intend to tell the
Congress, that I made it clear what I intend to do as the President, now
let's work to -- and the people made it clear what they wanted, now let's
work together.

And it's one of the wonderful -- it's like earning capital. You asked, do I
feel free. Let me put it to you this way: I earned capital in the campaign,
political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style. That's
what happened in the -- after the 2000 election, I earned some capital.
I've earned capital in this election -- and I'm going to spend it for what
I told the people I'd spend it on, which is -- you've heard the agenda:
Social Security and tax reform, moving this economy forward, education,
fighting and winning the war on terror.

We have an obligation in this country to continue to work with nations to
help alleve poverty and disease. We will continue to press forward on the
HIV/AIDS initiative, the Millennium Challenge Account. We will continue to
do our duty to help feed the hungry. And I'm looking forward to it, I
really am.

It's been a -- it's been a fantastic experience campaigning the country.
You've seen it from one -- perspective, I've seen it from another. I saw
you standing there at the last, final rally in Texas, to my right over
there. I was observing you observe, and you saw the energy. And there was
just something uplifting about people showing up at 11:00 p.m. at night,
expressing their support and their prayers and their friendship. It's a
marvelous experience to campaign across the country.

Mike.

Q Mr. President -- thank you, Mr. President. Do you plan to reshape your
Cabinet for the second term, or will any changes come at the instigation of
individuals? And as part of the same question, may I ask you what you've
learned about Cabinet government, what works, what doesn't work? And do you
mind also addressing the same question about the White House staff?
(Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: The post-election euphoria did not last very long here at
the press conference. (Laughter.)

Let me talk about the people that have worked with me. I had a Cabinet
meeting today and I thanked them for their service to the country and
reminded them we've got a job to do and I expected them to do the job.

I have made no decisions on my Cabinet and/or White House staff. I am
mindful that working in the White House is really -- is exhausting work.
The people who you try to get to leak to you spend hours away from their
families, and it is -- the word "burnout" is oftentimes used in the -- in
Washington, and it's used for a reason, because people do burn out.

And so obviously, in terms of those who are -- who want to stay on and who
I want to stay on, I've got to make sure that it's right for their families
and that they're comfortable, because when they come to work here in the
White House, I expect them to work as hard as they possibly can on behalf
of the American people.

In the Cabinet, there will be some changes. I don't know who they will be.
It's inevitable there will be changes. It happens in every administration.
To a person, I am proud of the work they have done. And I fully understand
we're about to head into the period of intense speculation as to who's
going to stay and who's not going to stay, and I assured them that -- today
I warned them of the speculative period. I said, it's a great Washington
sport to be talking about who's going to leave and who their replacements
may be, and handicapping, you know, my way of thinking.

I'll just give you -- but let me just help you out with the speculation
right now. I haven't thought about it. I'm going to start thinking about
it. I'm going to Camp David this afternoon with Laura, and I'll begin the
process of thinking about the Cabinet and the White House staff. And we'll
let you know at the appropriate time when decisions have been made. And so,
nice try, Mike.

Yes, Ed, and then --

Q What you learned --

THE PRESIDENT: Learned and not learned about the Cabinet?

Q What works, what doesn't.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, well, first I've learned that I put together a really
good Cabinet. I'm very proud of the people that have served this
government, and they -- to a man and a woman, worked their hearts out for
the American people. And I've learned that you've got to continue to
surround yourself with good people. This is a job that requires crisp
decision-making, and therefore, in order for me to make decisions, I've got
to have people who bring their point of view into the Oval Office and are
willing to say it.

I always jest to people, the Oval Office is the kind of place where people
stand outside, they're getting ready to come in and tell me what for, and
they walk in and get overwhelmed in the atmosphere, and they say, man,
you're looking pretty. And therefore, you need people to walk in on those
days when you're not looking so good and saying, you're not looking so
good, Mr. President. And I've got -- those are the kind of people that
served our country.

We've had vigorous debates, which you all, during the last four years, took
great delight in reporting, differences of opinion. But that's what you
want if you're the Commander-in-Chief and a decision-maker. You want people
to walk in and say, I don't agree with this, or I do agree with that, and
here's what my recommendation is. But the President also has to learn to
decide. You take, you know -- there's ample time for the debate to take
place, and then decide and make up your mind and lead. That's what the
job's all about.

And so I have learned how important it is to be -- to have a really fine
group of people that think through issues, and that are not intimidated by
the process, and who walk in and tell me what's on their mind.

Ed, and then Stevens.

Q Good morning. Sir, does it bother you that there's a perception out there
that your administration has been one that favors big business and the
wealthy individuals? And what can you do to overcome that, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: Ed, 70 percent of the new jobs in America are created by
small businesses. I understand that. And I have promoted during the course
of the last four years one of the most aggressive, pro-entrepreneur, small
business policies. Tax relief -- you might remember -- I don't know if you
know this or not, but 90 percent of the businesses are sole proprietorships
or subchapter-S corporations. (Laughter.)

Q We've heard it.

THE PRESIDENT: Tax relief helped them. This is an administration that fully
understands that the job creators are the entrepreneurs. And so in a new
term, we will make sure the tax relief continues to be robust for our small
businesses. We'll push legal reform and regulatory reform because I
understand the engine of growth is through the small business sector.

Stevenson.

Q Sir, given your commitment to reaching out across party lines and to all
Americans, I wonder if you could expand on your definition of
bipartisanship, and whether it means simply picking off a few Democrats on
a case-by-case basis to pass the bills you want to pass, or whether you
would commit to working regularly with the Democratic leadership on
solutions that can win broad support across party lines?

THE PRESIDENT: Do you remember the No Child Left Behind Act? I think there
the model I'd look at if I were you. It is a -- I laid out an agenda for
reforming our public schools. I worked with both Republicans and Democrats
to get that bill passed. In a new term, we'll continue to make sure we do
not weaken the accountability standards that are making a huge difference
in people's lives, in these kids' lives.

But that's the model I'd look at, if I were you. And we'll -- there's a
certain practicality to life here in Washington. And that is, when you get
a bill moving it is important to get the votes, and if politics starts to
get in the way of getting good legislation through, you know, that's just
part of life here. But I'm also focused on results. I think of the Medicare
bill -- you might remember that old, stale debate. We finally got a bill
moving. I was hoping that we'd get strong bipartisan support --
unfortunately, it was an election year. But we got the votes necessary to
get the bill passed. And so we will -- I will -- my goal is to work on the
ideal and to reach out and to continue to work and find common ground on
issues.

On the other hand, I've been wizened to the ways of Washington. I watched
what can happen during certain parts of the cycle, where politics gets in
the way of good policy. And at that point in time, I'll continue to -- you
know, I'll try to get this done, I'll try to get our bills passed in a way,
because results really do matter, as far as I'm concerned. I really didn't
come here to hold the office just to say, gosh, it was fun to serve. I came
here to get some things done, and we are doing it.

Yes, Big Stretch.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. I know you haven't had a chance to learn this,
but it appears that Yasser Arafat has passed away.

THE PRESIDENT: Really?

Q And I was just wondering if I could get your initial reaction? And also
your thoughts on, perhaps, working with a new generation of Palestinian
leadership?

THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that. My first reaction is, God bless his soul.
And my second reaction is, is that we will continue to work for a free
Palestinian state that's at peace with Israel.

Yes.

Q Mr. President, as you look at your second term domestic priorities, I
wonder if you could talk a little bit about how you see the sequence of
action on issues beyond Social Security -- tax reform, education. And if
you could expand a little bit for us on the principles that you want to
underpin your tax reform proposal -- do you want it to be revenue neutral?
What kinds of things do you want to accomplish through that process?

THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that. I was anticipating this question; that,
what is the first thing you're going to do? When it comes it legislation,
it just doesn't work that way, particularly when you've laid out a
comprehensive agenda. And part of that comprehensive agenda is tax
simplification.

The -- first of all, a principle would be revenue neutral. If I'm going to
-- if there was a need to raise taxes, I'd say, let's have a tax bill that
raises taxes, as opposed to let's simply the tax code and sneak a tax
increase on the people. It's just not my style. I don't believe we need to
raise taxes. I've said that to the American people. And so the
simplification would be the goal.

Now, secondly, that obviously, that it rewards risk and doesn't -- it
doesn't have unnecessary penalties in it. But the main thing is that it
would be viewed as fair, that it would be a fair system, that it wouldn't
be complicated, that there's a -- kind of that loopholes wouldn't be there
for special interests, that the code itself be viewed and deemed as a very
fair way to encourage people to invest and save and achieve certain fiscal
objectives in our country, as well.

One of the interesting debates will be, of course, in the course of
simplification, will there be incentives in the code: charitable giving, of
course, and mortgage deductions are very important. As governor of Texas,
when I -- some time I think I was asked about simplification, I always
noted how important it was for certain incentives to be built into the tax
code, and that will be an interesting part of the debate.

Certain issues come quicker than others in the course of a legislative
session, and that depends upon whether or not those issues have been

debated. I think of, for example, the legal issue -- the legal reform
issues, they have been -- medical liability reform had been debated and got
thwarted a couple of times in one body in particular on Capitol Hill. And
so the groundwork has been laid for some legislation that I've been talking
about. On an issue like tax reform it's going to -- tax simplification,
it's going to take a lot of legwork to get something ready for a
legislative package. I fully understand that. And Social Security reform
will require some additional legwork, although the Moynihan Commission has
laid the groundwork for what I think is a very good place to start the
debate.

The education issue is one that could move pretty quickly because there has
been a lot of discussion about education. It's an issue that the members
are used to debating and discussing. And so I think -- all issues are
important. And the timing of issues as they reach it through committee and
floor really depend upon whether or not some work has already been on those
issues.

A couple more questions. Bob.

Q Mr. President, American forces are gearing up for what appears to be a
major offensive in Fallujah over the next several days. I'm wondering if
you could tell us what the objective is, what the stakes are there for the
United States, for the Iraqi people, and the Iraqi elections coming up in
January?

THE PRESIDENT: In order for Iraq to be a free country those who are trying
to stop the elections and stop a free society from emerging must be
defeated.

And so Prime Minister Allawi and his government, which fully understands
that, are working with our generals on the ground to do just that. We will
work closely with the government. It's their government, it's their
country. We're there at their invitation. And -- but I think there's a
recognition that some of these people have to -- must be defeated, and so
that's what they're thinking about. That's what you're -- that's why you're
hearing discussions about potential action in Fallujah.

Heidi.

Q Thank you, sir. Many within your own party are unhappy over the deficit,
and they say keeping down discretional spending alone won't help you reach
the goal of halving the deficit in five years. What else do you plan to do
to cut costs?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I -- I would suggest they look at our budget that
we've submitted to Congress, which does, in fact, get the deficit down --
cut in half in five years, and is a specific line-by-line budget that we
are required to submit and have done so.

The key to making sure that the deficit is reduced is for there to be, on
the one hand, spending discipline, and I -- as you noticed in my opening
remarks, I talked about these appropriations bills that are beginning to
move, and I thought I was pretty clear about the need for those bills to be
-- to be fiscally responsible, and I meant it. And I look forward to
talking to the leadership about making sure that the budget agreements we
had are still the budget agreements, that just because we had an election,
that they shouldn't feel comfortable changing our agreement. And I think
they understand that.

And secondly, the other way to make sure that the deficit is -- decreases,
is to grow the economy. As the economy grows, there will be more revenues
coming into the Treasury. That's what you have seen recently. If you
notice, there's been some write-downs of the budget deficit. In other
words, the deficit is less than we thought because the revenues is
exceeding projections. And the reason why the revenues -- the revenues are
exceeding projections -- sometimes I mangle the English language. I get
that. (Laughter.)

Q Inside joke.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, very inside. (Laughter.)

The revenues are exceeding projections. And as a result, the projected
deficit is less. But my point there is, is that with good economic policy
that encourages economic growth, the revenue streams begin to increase. And
as the revenue streams increase, coupled with fiscal discipline, you'll see
the deficit shrinking. And we're focused on that.

I do believe there ought to be budgetary reform in Washington, on the Hill,
Capitol Hill. I think it's very important. I would like to see the
President have a line-item veto again, one that passed constitutional
muster. I think it would help the executive branch work with the
legislative branch, to make sure that we're able to maintain budget
discipline. I've talked to a lot of members of Congress who are wondering
whether or not we'll have the will to confront entitlements, to make sure
that there is entitlement reform that helps us maintain fiscal discipline.
And the answer is, yes; that's why I took on the Social Security issue. I
believe we have a duty to do so. I want to make sure that the Medicare
reforms that we've put in place remain robust, to help us make sure
Medicare is available for generations to come.

And so there is a -- I've got quite an active agenda to help work with
Congress to bring not only fiscal discipline, but to make sure that our
pro-growth policies are still in place.

Herman. I'm probably going to regret this. (Laughter.)

Q I don't know if you had a chance to check, but I can report you did eke
out a victory in Texas the other day.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir.

Q Congratulations. I'm interested in getting back to Steven -- Stevenson's
question about unity. Clearly, you believe you have reached out and will
continue to reach out. Do you believe the Democrats have made a sincere and
sufficient effort to meet you somewhere halfway, and do you think now
there's more reason for them the do that in light of the election results?

THE PRESIDENT: I think that Democrats agree that we have an obligation to
serve our country. I believe there will be goodwill, now that this election
is over, to work together. I found that to be the case when I first arrived
here in Washington, and working with the Democrats and fellow Republicans,
we got a lot done. And it is with that spirit that I go into this coming
session, and I will meet with both Republican and Democrat leaders, and I
am -- they'll see I'm genuine about working toward some of these important
issues.

It's going to be -- it's not easy. These -- I readily concede I've laid out
some very difficult issues for people to deal with. Reforming the Social
Security system for generations to come is a difficult issue; otherwise, it
would have already been done. But it is necessary to confront it. And I
would hope to be able to work with Democrats to get this done. I'm not sure
we can get it done without Democrat participation, because it is a big
issue, and I will explain to them and I will show them Senator Moynihan's
thinking as a way to begin the process. And I will remind everybody here
that we have a duty to leave behind a better America, and when we see a
problem, to deal with it. And I think the -- I think Democrats agree with
that.

And so I'm optimistic. You covered me when I was the governor of Texas. I
told you that I was going to do that as a governor. There was probably
skepticism in your beady eyes there. (Laughter.) But you might remember --
you might remember, we did -- we were able to accomplish a lot by -- and
Washington is different from Austin, no question about it. Washington --
one of the disappointments of being here in Washington is how bitter this
town can become and how divisive. I'm not blaming one party or the other.
It's just the reality of Washington, D.C., sometimes exacerbated by you,
because it's great sport. It's really -- it's entertaining for some. It
also makes is difficult to govern at times.

But nevertheless, my commitment is there. I fully -- now more seasoned to
Washington, I've cut my political eye-teeth, at least the ones I've
recently grown here in Washington. And so I'm aware of what can happen in
this town. But nevertheless, having said that, I am fully prepared to work
with both Republican and Democrat leadership to advance an agenda that I
think makes a big difference for the country.

Listen, thank you all. I look forward to working with you. I've got a
question for you. How many of you are going to be here for a second term?
Please raise your hand. (Laughter.)

Good. Gosh, we're going to have a lot of fun, then. Thank you all.

END 11:57 A.M. EST
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