White House Press Corps.org: October 2007

MS. PERINO: Bill.

Q With a vote now scheduled on the Mukasey nomination for Tuesday, have you received any assurances from people on the Hill that the vote is likely to go for confirmation?

MS. PERINO: No. Well, I think the fact that they have scheduled a vote is a good thing, a good sign. Judge Mukasey is an exceptional nominee who deserves to be confirmed. It is, I believe, unprecedented to have a nominee actually be voted down in committee or on the Senate floor. And so we'll continue to work with the committee and then hopefully have a successful vote on Tuesday, the 6th.

Q If the committee wants more documents, are you going to send them?

MS. PERINO: Well, we have -- Judge Mukasey actually responded to 495 questions for the record. Just as a comparison, before her nomination, Janet Reno didn't have to answer a single question for the record before she was confirmed. We've gone over and beyond the call of duty here by any reasonable stretch. Judge Mukasey should be able to have a favorable vote on Tuesday.

Q But you haven't heard anything from them?

MS. PERINO: We haven't done a vote count or had assurances from the Chairman, no.

Q What's your reaction to Senator Specter's comment that Mukasey's confirmation is at risk at this moment because he has not answered the question --

MS. PERINO: If confirmed, Judge Mukasey will be briefed on classified programs. He has not been briefed on classified programs because he is a private citizen. Private citizens are not read into private, classified information for a reason. If confirmed, he will be read into those programs. He says in his letter that he will fully review all the legal opinions surrounding this matter. And then once he's confirmed, then Congress has the right and ability to ask him to come up and have more conversations with them, which Judge Mukasey says he is willing to do if confirmed.

Q Is that confirmation at risk?

MS. PERINO: We feel confident that he will be confirmed.

Labels: Attorney General, Confirmation Hearings, Dana Perino, Michael Mukasey, Press Briefing, Senate Judiciary Committee, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 7:22 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/30/07 (Do-Nothing Congress)
— Tuesday, October 30, 2007 —

MS. PERINO: Les, go ahead.

Q Thank you, Dana; two questions. Agency French Press reports that of the 100 bills passed by Congress and signed into law since the Democrats became the majority, 46 of the 100 name post offices, court houses and roads. And my question: Does the President believe this Congress is earning the title "do nothing" or not?

MS. PERINO: Well, you've heard the President, himself, say that. Look, there's many of these post offices -- are being named for veterans of wars in Iraq, Afghanistan or other places. And that is appropriate. But certainly Congress should be able to get a lot of other work done.

Congress | Dana Perino | Democrats | Press Briefing | White House Press Corps

Labels: Congress, Dana Perino, Democrats, Press Briefing, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 4:23 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/26/07 (FEMA Fake Reporters)
— Friday, October 26, 2007 —

MS. PERINO: Kelly.

Q Dana, on Tuesday, FEMA's deputy administrator held what was called a news briefing to talk about the California wildfires. And from what we understand, the questions were posed not by reporters, but by staffers, and that distinction was not made known. Is that appropriate?

MS. PERINO: It is not. It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House or that we -- we certainly don't condone it. We didn't know about it beforehand. FEMA has issued an apology, saying that they had an error in judgment when they were attempting to try to get out a lot of information to reporters, who were asking for answers to a variety of questions in regards to the wildfires in California. It's not something I would have condoned, and they, I'm sure, will not do it again.

Q Who is responsible?

MS. PERINO: FEMA is responsible, and they have taken that -- they have accepted that responsibility, and they issued an apology today.

Q But isn't -- a follow-up on that. Isn't there a normal morning call with all the press secretaries of all the agencies here, and whether somebody is having a press briefing or not is discussed?

MS. PERINIO: We have a variety of ways that we talk to the -- communicate to the communicators in the agency. FEMA is not on that daily call, no, and I don't know if the DHS -- the head of DHS communications knew about it either. But FEMA has apologized for the error in judgment.

Q Dana, why didn't this raise alarm bells, in terms of credibility, with anyone there?

MS. PERINO: You'll have to ask them. They have admitted that they had an error in judgment. I would agree with that. They've issued an apology. You'll have to ask them about why they decided to do that.

Q But isn't the President concerned, at a time when he is traveling to the area to talk about a very significant natural disaster -- there have been issues about FEMA in the past, trying to make a distinction about progress made, and for them to effectively pretend to hold a news conference, doesn't the President have concerns about that?

MS. PERINO: I just said that the White House did not know about it before hand, and the White House condones* [sic] it. And they have apologized for it. They had an error in judgment, they've admitted that. And I think that what they were -- I don't think that there was any mal-intent. I think that they were trying to provide information to the public through the press, because there were so many questions pouring in. It was just a bad way to handle it, and they know that.

Q Will anybody be reprimanded?

MS. PERINO: You'll have to ask FEMA.

Dana Perino | FEMA | Natural Disasters | Press Briefing | White House Press Corps

Labels: Dana Perino, FEMA, Natural Disasters, Press Briefing, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 6:17 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/24/07 (Income and Natural Disasters)
— Wednesday, October 24, 2007 —

Q You're talking about the evacuation planning and the communication, but doesn't it help that income plays a significant part, with New Orleans versus San Diego? You have -- evacuation in New Orleans -- 27 percent of the New Orleans residents that were there did not have vehicles, versus 5 percent in San Diego; they're able to move.

MS. PERINO: Vehicles are very important, but I don't think any natural disaster discriminates or chooses who they're -- where it's going to hit. When it does hit an area that is poor or needs additional public assistance, that's provided. As you know, we've given $110 billion federal taxpayer dollars to Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region in order to help them rebuild.

I don't know what the price tag is going to be in California, and right now the price tag is not a consideration. Making sure that people are taken care of is what we're most concerned about.

Q But you do admit, at least, that scenarios, income-levels, people who have a little bit more money are able to move, go somewhere, versus people who don't --

MS. PERINO: I think that's logical. Absolutely that happens. And I think that when we see hurricanes that hit -- for example, when the hurricane hit Haiti, it affects people differently, and a lot of people lost shelter completely and didn't have anywhere else to go. We are fortunate in the United States that we have generous people that are willing to provide shelter. We have a system in place, a system of government that allows people to get a hotel voucher if they need it. And then because of the President's signing the disaster declaration today, that provides for additional assistance for individuals such as if they are looking for crisis counseling, if they need food coupons, whatever they need to get back on their feet. We're very fortunate in America to have the means to take care of our citizens.

Q And lastly, on the HUD issue that I asked you yesterday, do you know anything -- can you talk about the national housing locator that's in place, how is that going to affect the displaced now in San Diego?

MS. PERINO: In San Diego? It's a little --

Q California.

MS. PERINO: In California? It's premature to say, but Secretary Jackson was here today and -- he was there at the Cabinet meeting, and one of the things that the President talked about at the very top of the meeting was that all the agencies are going to have to take a look at what they could do, and the HUD part of it comes in just a little bit later.

Any more on this?

Q You were talking about all the differences between disasters. Does the White House feel that it's unfair to compare the federal response to, say, what's happening in California now to what happened in New Orleans with Katrina?

MS. PERINO: I think it's inevitable. I am not one to think that a massive hurricane, the largest hurricane to ever hit the United States, is comparable to the fires. But I understand that the comparison is going to be there. So I'm not going to call it unfair, no.

Anybody else on fires?

Q California is a huge part of this country's economy, and especially that part of California. Has there been any consideration yet about the economic impact from these fires?

MS. PERINO: I haven't heard conversation about that. Obviously the most important thing right now is keeping people safe and getting them back into their homes, or at least getting them the information that their home and their business is -- has survived. We've had several deaths and many injuries, so first and foremost you have to worry about that.

The economic impacts are something that we're going to have to deal with. California is a very resilient state. They have many natural disasters that have come to -- come into its borders over the years. Fires is one of them, but they have earthquakes, as you'll remember, and California has a tremendous ability to bounce back. And there will be federal assistance if it's needed in that regard, too. But it's a wonderful place to live and people like to do business there, so I think they'll be just fine.

Any more on fires?

Labels: California, Dana Perino, Income, Katrina, Natural Disasters, New Orleans, Press Briefing, San Diego, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:59 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/23/07 (California Wildfires)
— Tuesday, October 23, 2007 —

Q Dana, the aggressive response to the fires, how much of that is done sort of with lessons learned from Katrina?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that there were lessons learned from Katrina, especially in regards to early communication and coordination between the federal, state, and local governments. Obviously, the situation is different. When you have a hurricane, there are days when you can prepare and prepare for evacuation. These fires can spark up overnight and literally your house is going up in smoke. And so that's why the President declared the emergency so that we can help people get to a place where they can be safe.

Clearly, when they're talking about increased coordination that means that you can get assets like those DOD assets and the U.S. Department of Agriculture assets, the Department of Interior assets to that region quickly. And I would say that the state and federal -- I'm sorry, the state and local governments are working quite well together, as well, which is why we've had a good coordinated response. It's a very dangerous situation. You have over 300,000 people evacuated, and the President is very concerned for not only their safety, but for how we are going to help them afterwards.

Q Well, when you send Secretary Chertoff out or Director Paulison or you take a minute to show us 280,000 bottles of water, is that designed to make sure folks know that the administration won't repeat its own mistakes?

MS. PERINO: I would say that it's not designed to do anything for me to show you that; it's to alert people to what the federal government is doing in order to help the people of southern California. The whole world is watching how much of the state -- the southern part of the state is on fire. The federal government is very concerned, the President is concerned himself, and that's why we're providing these assets. We did provide assets at Katrina. But there were lessons learned out of Katrina and I think that we are applying some of those, especially when it comes to early communication, early and often communication between our staff here at the federal level and then the Governor's staff and the Mayor's staff.

Q Is the President going to go out?

MS. PERINO: We don't have anything to announce in terms of the President going out. Right now it would be premature to announce because of the situation on the ground requiring so much of the security assets to be put towards helping people get out of harm's way, or to fight -- actually fight the fires. And so we are going to continue to update the President. He'll get a briefing tonight from Secretaries Chertoff and -- I'm sorry, Secretary Chertoff and Administrator Paulison. And then if we have more to update you on when -- whether he might go, we'll let you know.

Q And as far as he knows right now, is everything going as well as it could be going? I've seen a couple of wire reports that at the -- center they were asking for water and other things, donations.

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that -- again, being such an emergency where you have so many people needing to be in one place immediately, obviously they would need a lot of support; not only bottles of water, but cots, diapers, baby formula. People have had to leave immediately. Governor Schwarzenegger did tell the President he felt he was getting what he needed, but the President said, you've got an open line of communication, and if you need more, you just have to let us know.

Labels: California, Dana Perino, Department of Homeland Security, Katrina, Michael Chertoff, Natural Disasters, Press Briefing, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 7:48 PM

White House Press Briefing by Tony Fratto 10/22/07 (S-CHIP Veto)
— Monday, October 22, 2007 —

Q Tony, back to the supplemental, the President just vetoed SCHIP -- you know, an extra $35 billion for children's health care, saying he wanted to be fiscally responsible; hold the line on federal spending. How does he then justify coming out of the gate with an -- you know, in such a short period of time and saying, now I need an extra $40-plus billion for Iraq?

MR. FRATTO: Well, I could see that point if that was what the President said, but that's exactly not what the President said. What the President said was is that they have the policy wrong on SCHIP, not that it's too expensive or is --

Q They were asking for too much, though, right?

MR. FRATTO: No, they were asking for a policy that was bad. Let me tell you something about the -- what the SCHIP bill that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are proposing, okay. If you look at the eligible communities in this bill, it would result in 57 percent of children in this country and about 53 percent of families with children on public assistance, or at least eligible for public assistance.

Now what the President has said is that poor children should come first. Now there are a lot of things you can say about half the families in America. Half of them aren't poor. And so the President has said that the policy is wrong. He didn't say that it's too expensive -- although it is too expensive to spend money on the wrong policy. So what he has said is the policy is wrong.

Now, with regard to the supplemental request, children -- the right children, poor children getting their health care, and the needs of our troops can both be accomplished. They're both priorities and we can handle both of those requests.

Labels: Iraq, President Bush, Press Briefing, S-CHIP, Tony Fratto, Vetoes, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 8:41 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/19/07 (Senate FISA Bill)
— Friday, October 19, 2007 —

Q The White House has allowed Senator Rockefeller to see some key documents that he'd like to see. I'm wondering if, in general terms, you can describe those documents and perhaps lay out who else in Congress he may allow to see them.

MS. PERINO: Well, I think it's premature to say who else might see them. The Senate Intelligence Committee and Senator Rockefeller and Senator's Bond's staff had showed a willingness to want to include in their legislation retroactive liability protection for companies that were alleged to have helped the United States in the days after 9/11. Because they were willing to do that, we were willing to show them some of the documents that they asked to see.

The Senate FISA bill has many good components. We appreciate the serious work that has been done by Senator Rockefeller and Senator Bond. We have not seen the final product yet that came out of the markup. And so we need to see that before we comment further.

We are disappointed that the bill includes a sunset provision. We don't think that that's necessary. And we have strong concerns about one of the amendments that came out of the markup yesterday -- the Wyden amendment. That is one that we would like to see taken out of the bill. We don't think that it was intended to be in there, and I think the staff is working on that. And so we'll let that process play out.

But to the extent of anyone else being able to see the documents, I think that we'll wait and see to see who else is willing to include that provision in the bill.

Q Dana, could you talk about the Wyden amendment a little bit? What specifically --

MS. PERINO: Well, we haven't seen the final language, but as we understand it, we would have concerns because we would not be able to accept it. The Chair and the Vice Chair, Senators Rockefeller and Bond, I understand recognize the problem with the language and are in agreement that it needs to be changed.

It basically was, as I understand it, hastily drafted and agreed to, and it would, as an end result, take a step backwards beyond even before where we were when the original FISA bill was passed in 1978 in regards to targeting foreign intelligence overseas.

Labels: Bond, Dana Perino, FISA, Press Briefing, Rockefeller, Senate, White House Press Corps, Wiretapping, Wyden

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 7:05 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/18/07 (Turkey, Iraq and the PKK)
— Thursday, October 18, 2007 —

Q The Iraqi Prime Minister said today that his government would expect only limited Turkish air strikes in northern Iraq against the Kurdish rebels, and not an actual all-out offensive on the ground there. Could the U.S. live with that?

MS. PERINO: Well, what we have said is that -- the President said yesterday what we want to see is for Turkey to not send additional troops into that region. The President said yesterday there's a small contingent there that have been there for a few years. That's been a longstanding presence. What you have now is the Americans and the Iraqis working together with the Turks to work together against the PKK, a terrorist organization, which we would like to see eradicated in the region as well.

What was very positive was that Prime Minister Maliki send his Vice President, Hashimi, to Turkey yesterday in order to work with them. That's where you see -- that's what a good neighbor does. In the world of international politics, you want neighbors to be talking with one another and working together to solve problems. So I think that that is an encouraging sign, and we have asked Turkey to refrain from doing anything more.

Q Can I follow on that?

MS. PERINO: You want to follow? Okay.

Q Turkey's justice minister says the President is basically being hypocritical by opposing Turkish military action in northern Iraq. He says the same justification the U.S. used to go after al Qaeda in Afghanistan is the justification that Turkey would use to go after the PKK in northern Iraq.

MS. PERINO: I haven't seen the justice minister's comments. What I can say is that we have Ambassador Crocker, our ambassador in Iraq, and our ambassador into Turkey, as well as General Petraeus working closely with the Turks to help solve the problem. And also you have the Iraqis participating, as well. We think that's the way to help solve this issue. I understand that he's making a point about terrorists attacking their country, that this is something that the Iraqis and the Americans have said that they would help the Turks help eradicate, and to end the PKK terrorist influence in that region. And so we'll continue to try to work it that way. We don't think that a larger-scale incursion is necessary to help solve the problem.

Q I think the point he's making is two-fold; one is a point of rights, and the other is that the efforts by the U.S. and Iraq have not solved the problem yet, and so Turkey --

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that we saw yesterday the Iraqis saying that they are going to work with the Turks, and they will redouble their efforts to help them. And I think that's the appropriate way to help solve this.

Labels: Dana Perino, Iraq, Middle East, PKK, Press Briefing, Turkey, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 8:22 PM

Press Conference by the President 10/17/07 (Iran and Russia)
— Wednesday, October 17, 2007 —

Q Good morning, Mr. President, thank you. I don't know if you saw the picture on the front page of one of the papers this morning of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Vladimir Putin.

THE PRESIDENT: I did.

Q It looked like they were getting along pretty well. And they are among --

THE PRESIDENT: Surprised they weren't kind of fighting each other on the front page of the paper? No, man, come on.

Q It looked like they were enjoying each other's company. And I'm wondering, since they were leaders of five Caspian Sea region nations that have now declared each country will not be used as a base to attack the other, A, what do you make of their growing relationship? B, does it complicate what the United States can do in the region? And C, would you characterize that arrangement as some sort of Caspian Sea Truman Doctrine or something like that?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, I -- I think it's hard to judge how their conversations went from a picture. Generally leaders don't like to be photographed scowling at each other or making bad gestures at each other. So I'm not surprised that there was a nice picture of them walking along. I try to make sure that when I'm with foreign leaders, there's a pretty picture of the two of us walking down the colonnades, or something like that, to send a good message.

Q Are you saying it's not so warm?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I don't know yet. What I'm about to tell you is, is that I'm looking forward to getting President Putin's readout from the meeting. I think one of the -- the thing I'm interested in is whether or not he continues to harbor the same concerns that I do. And I say "continues" because when we were in Australia, he reconfirmed to me that it is -- he recognized it's not in the world's interest for Iran to have the capacity to make a nuclear weapon. And they have been very supportive in the United Nations. And we're working with them on a potential third resolution.

So that's where my concerns -- I don't worry about the pictures. I understand why they meet. I am -- will continue to work with Russia, as well as other nations, to keep a focused effort on sending Iran a message that you will remain isolated if you continue your nuclear weapons ambitions.

Q But this declaration doesn't speak to that, Mr. President. This declaration doesn't suggest isolation for Iran. Just the opposite, that Russia and Iran are going to do business.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we'll find out, see. You're trying to get me to interpret the meeting based upon a news story or a picture. I'd rather spend some time with Vladimir Putin finding out exactly what went on. Thank you.

Q Let's stay with the nuclear -- here. When North Korea tested a nuclear device, you said that any proliferation would be a grave threat to the U.S., and North Korea would be responsible for the consequences. Are you denying that North Korea has any role in the suspected nuclear --

THE PRESIDENT: See, you're trying to pull a Gregory.

Q Yes, I am.

Labels: Ahmadinejad, Iran, North Korea, Nuclear Arms, President Bush, Presidential Press Conference, Putin, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:10 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/16/07 (President Bush, the Dalai Lama and China)
— Tuesday, October 16, 2007 —

MS. PERINO: John.

Q Why has the President chosen to attend this event tomorrow? Is it because he attends all of the -- with the Dalai Lama -- all of these congressional award ceremonies, or is he trying to make a statement to China?

MS. PERINO: President Bush has attended the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor ceremonies. The most recent one that I can remember was the Tuskegee Airmen event that he attended. I think that was earlier this year. And he told President Hu when we were at APEC in Sydney that he would be attending this one, as well. And he is going to be proud to do so. He believes that the Dalai Lama is a strong spiritual leader, and he will have a private meeting with him today, and then he'll attend tomorrow's Gold Medal ceremony. And, as I told you, he told President Hu that he would and he'll be proud to do so tomorrow.

Q Is he concerned about the repercussions? The Chinese Foreign Minister called this a violent intrusion into Chinese domestic politics.

MS. PERINO: We understand that the Chinese have very strong feelings about this, and that's one of the reasons that the President brought up with President Hu almost two months ago that he would be actually -- that he would be attending this event. The President wanted President Hu to know about this early on.

The President attends that ceremony; it's a special one that we have in American traditions. The United States and the Bush administration has worked hard to have very strong relations with China on a variety of issues -- from trade and to cooperation on many different issues, such as the six-party talks with North Korea. We feel we have a very strong relationship with them, and that will be maintained.

Q So if there's a strong strategic relationship with China, I would think that the President would listen to strongly expressed reservations about something the President was doing, with a certain amount of appreciation for that. What's the difference between Turkey saying, we don't want the United States to do something, and China saying, we don't want the government or the President to do something? What's the difference?

MS. PERINO: Well, first, I think those two things are different. First and foremost, the President has met with the Dalai Lama multiple times, and this will be his fourth private meeting with the Dalai Lama. The President also attends the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony whenever he possibly can. I think he's attended almost of all them, and if he hasn't, that has been because of travel that he didn't make it.

On the Armenian resolution, what the President has done is he has expressed the Americans' grief about what happened in 1915 through a presidential message every year. And the President has made it clear that Turkey currently is playing a very important, vital role in making sure that our troops have the supplies that they need. A lot of our troops -- all the supplies are going through Turkey either through the airspace or -- and both to Iraq and Afghanistan, so there's a strategic national security reason there.

On China and on the Dalai Lama, the President has made clear early on with President Hu -- we've been very open about -- that the President was going to be meeting with him. It's not that the President hadn't met him before.

Q Why not release the picture?

MS. PERINO: There's going to be a picture of the President and the Dalai Lama that you'll have tomorrow.

Q What about today?

MS. PERINO: They'll be standing together in the Capitol.

Q But if it's not that big a deal, and the President's proud to --

MS. PERINO: We understand that there are very strong feelings that the Chinese have, and that they've reacted negatively to the fact the President will be going to this event tomorrow. But the President was clear that he would attend the event, as he had before. And we made a decision not to release a photograph today, but you are -- it's not that you're not going to get a picture of the President and the Dalai Lama, because you'll see them together tomorrow at the Capitol.

Q Was it a conscious decision not the release a photo, even though you --

MS. PERINO: We always make a decision whether or not to release a photo.

Q But it almost appears like a splitting the difference, that understanding that China is --

MS. PERINO: Well, I don't know if the Chinese would feel that way. I think that they don't want the event to happen at all. So I -- but I think -- it is going to go forward. The President will be there tomorrow. He'll make brief remarks and he'll have his picture taken there, too.

Q Is it a gesture to the Chinese to not release a photo, to limit the exposure --

MS. PERINO: I don't know if they would take it that way. It was a decision we made on our own. They did not ask us not to release a photo.

Q And what is the basis of that decision, then? It's certainly a story today.

MS. PERINO: The United States -- we in no way want to stir the pot and make China feel that we are poking a stick in their eye, to a country that we have a lot of relationships with on a variety of -- I mean, a good relationship with on a variety of issues. And if this is -- this might be one thing that we can do. But I don't have -- I don't believe that that's going to assuage the concerns of the Chinese.

Sure, I'll go to Ann, and I'll come back.

Q Several years ago the Dalai Lama proposed what he calls the "middle way," not independence for Tibet, but a kind of, what he calls, autonomy, where that area could have its own leaders. Does the United States embrace the Dalai Lama's vision of what a government for Tibet should be?

MS. PERINO: As I understand it, the Dalai Lama wants not for -- he's not calling for independence from China. He's asking for the people there to have ability to -- the freedom to practice their religion. And the United States supports him as a great spiritual leader. He should be honored as a spiritual leader. But we are not asking for independence from the country.

Q But his idea of autonomy -- and that's the word he uses -- is what the United States would also embrace?

MS. PERINO: I don't know his specific language that he uses, but we do not support a separate country from China.

Q Dana, what can you tell us about what they're going to talk about, the President and the Dalai Lama?

MS. PERINO: Well, those are private meetings, and the President has private meetings with spiritual leaders such as the Pope. We don't always tell you what's on his mind. The President, obviously, will have a good discussion with him. But when he has a private meeting, I don't get into the habit of asking him specifically what's he's going to bring up with somebody. If there's more to say later, I could let you know.

Q -- preview of the topics, even --

MS. PERINO: No.

Q Do you know where it will be?

MS. PERINO: In the Residence.

Q Where in the Residence, do we know?

MS. PERINO: I don't know.

Q You heard what the Chinese Foreign Minister said about violating international relations and wounded feelings with China. The Dalai Lama's Special Envoy says that this meeting sends a message that people have not forgotten about Tibet, and that it is also a message -- a powerful message, according to him, to China, that the Dalai Lama is not going to go away. Does the President believe that this meeting sends that sort of message to China?

MS. PERINO: I think that what the President would believe is that people are going to look at this meeting in several different ways, and it's almost taking on a life of its own. The President has met with the Dalai Lama before. He is a great spiritual leader. The President wants to meet with him. The President believes that people all over the world should be able to express their religion and practice their religion in freedom. And that's why the President wants to meet with him. He believes he should be honored as a great spiritual leader.

And you mentioned the Foreign Minister. The President, just within the recent weeks, had a good meeting with him, as well, here at the White House -- the Chinese Foreign Minister. And we believe that we'll get through this event tomorrow that the President is going to attend, and that we'll be able to continue and maintain to have really good relationships with China from here on out.

Q If I could just follow, you can judge by the number of questions here in this briefing that it is --

MS. PERINO: -- lot of hot air tonight.

Q -- the topic of the day. So why not release this picture today? It just seems like it's happening today --

MS. PERINO: I understand and I'll take it back up, if I can, but I believe that there will not be a photo today. You'll get one tomorrow.

Q Dana, you talked earlier about not releasing the picture as something you could do, in essence not to stir the pot. What about at tomorrow's ceremony? Will the President hand the medal and present the medal to the Dalai Lama? Will he -- is he keeping his remarks purposely short? What are other gestures --

MS. PERINO: I think his remarks are on par with the length of what he's given before -- I believe. They're always brief remarks because it's a long ceremony. And I don't know who -- I don't know what the protocol is for who provides the medal. It's the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, so I don't know what the President's role is.

Q But is the White House thinking carefully about the symbolism of those gestures and --

MS. PERINO: We're aware of it, sure. It's on our collective radar screen. We understand that there are the concerns and -- that the Chinese have expressed. But we are going to go forward with the event tomorrow. We're not going to change that. But we will not release the photo today. But you all know that the meeting is happening anyway, and you'll have a picture of him with the Dalai Lama tomorrow.

Q Will you let us know by the end of today what the protocol will be tomorrow, and if the President will be presenting the medal?

MS. PERINO: Yes, sure.

Q And also, what is he likely to say in his remarks tomorrow?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that he will honor the Dalai Lama as a great spiritual leader. And when I can provide you more -- those remarks are still being worked on, too, and unless they've been released in between the time that I was in my office and came down here, they're still not final.

Let me go back to April.

Q Dana, in the last couple of months this White House has said there has been an interesting relationship with China, especially after all the trade issues. And now you're saying it's a good relationship. How -- could you explain why you have a good relationship with China, as some would see this adding fuel to the fire of recent controversies with the United States and China?

MS. PERINO: Well, I just think we have -- it's a relationship where we have a lot of different issues that we work together on, including energy issues. China was here two weeks ago when the President hosted the major economies meeting, when we talked about how to curtail global warming through reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The President told President Hu that he looks forward to attending the Olympics next year. We've also talked to China --the reason he met with Foreign Minister Wang was to talk to China about our concerns regarding Burma. We have an issue with the Product Import Safety Commission that Secretary Leavitt is looking into. We also have China as a great -- as a large trading partner, and we have many different issues going back and forth and we work cooperatively with them. Secretary Paulson has the Economic Strategic Initiative that he has implemented over at the Treasury Department.

And so it's a complex relationship that has many different facets. And we're working with them, as I mentioned before, on the North Korean six-party talks. They're very important to us, and to that -- and to the entire region in making sure that North Korea becomes a nuclear-free peninsula.

Q But "complex" still equates to a good relationship?

MS. PERINO: I think you can have a complex and a good relationship, like ours.

Helen.

Q It's not on the Dalai, but anyone else want to ask about --

MS. PERINO: Well, I'll come right back to you, Helen.

In the back.

Q Thanks, Dana. Is China interfering in our domestic politics by complaining so strongly about tomorrow's Congressional Gold Medal ceremony?

MS. PERINO: Look, I think that if people want to express their views, the President welcomes every -- everyone should have the opportunity to express their views. And I think that we're not going to try to squelch that at all, no.

Goyal.

Q Dana, thank you.

MS. PERINO: Is this one on the Dalai Lama?

Q Yes, ma'am. As far as this -- the Dalai Lama and particular issue is concerned, this has been going for a long time, and the people of Tibet have been waiting and asking President Bush every year whenever he was meeting with him in the White House that they see a hope of light for them. And now, over quarter million Tibetans in India are asking on President Bush again today that he should stand for the independence or freedom of Tibet just like anywhere else in the world.

MS. PERINO: As I said, the President --

Q And this will be the highest -- this will be the highest award ever the U.S. can give to -- civilian award to anybody, and they are very delighted and very thankful to the President. But, at the same time, they're asking for more.

MS. PERINO: Well, I understand that the President looks forward to the meeting he's having with him today, and then he'll make brief remarks tomorrow, and you can maybe get those out in your newspaper.

Labels: China, Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, Dalai Lama, Dana Perino, President Bush, Press Briefing, Tibet, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 9:12 PM

Air Force One Press Gaggle by Tony Fratto 10/15/07 (Armenian Genocide Resolution)
— Monday, October 15, 2007 —

Q On the Armenian genocide resolution, yesterday Speaker Pelosi said she has not heard -- has not received a telephone call from the President. Will he be calling her?

MR. FRATTO: I don't have -- I don't know anything about plans for a phone call. But there should be no question of the President's views on this issue and the damage that this resolution can do to our U.S. foreign policy interests. This isn't just a view that's expressed by the administration; this is a view that's been expressed by at least, I believe eight former Secretaries of State on a bipartisan basis, a number of former Defense Secretaries, by our Turkish allies, by independent experts, that this is an important time for U.S.-Turkish relations, and we would strongly encourage the Speaker not to bring this to a vote, and should it come to a vote, we will strongly encourage members not to support it.

This is not the best way to deal with this issue. It is, admittedly, a tragic historical event, which has been well documented, but there are better ways to deal with this issue than -- the most important outcome that I think everyone would like to see are improved Turkish and Armenian relations. And so we encourage the Turks and Armenian authorities to resolve this issue between themselves, and not for the U.S. House of Representatives to insert itself and make this -- make the prospects for resolving the issue more difficult. We should be trying to make it less difficult.

Labels: Air Force One, Armenia, Genocide, Iraq, Middle East, Press Gaggle, Resolutions, Tony Fratto, Turkey, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 8:41 PM

Air Force One Press Gaggle by Tony Fratto 10/12/07 (Al Gore and the Nobel Prize)
— Friday, October 12, 2007 —

Q Tony, does the President have any reaction to Al Gore's winning the Nobel Prize?

MR. FRATTO: Yes, the President learned about it this morning. Of course, he's happy for Vice President Gore, happy for the International Panel on Climate Change scientists, who also shared the Peace Prize. Obviously it's an important recognition and we're sure the Vice President is thrilled.

Q Is he going to call him?

MR. FRATTO: I don't know of any plans to make calls to any of the winners at this point.

Q (Inaudible.)

MR. FRATTO: Well, obviously Vice President Gore has helped to bring attention to climate change. The IPCC scientists have done remarkable work to bring scientific rigor to the questions surrounding climate change. And obviously the next step for -- and really the most difficult step is implementing climate change strategies that are effective and practical, and that allow for continued economic development and for countries to do the work that they need to do to lift people out of poverty.

And that's a challenging task. That's why the President brought together the major economies -- the announcement he had prior to the G8 and then the summit meeting last week -- I guess it was two weeks ago now -- to discuss a strategy for climate change. And that's the next step and that's an important step.

Q Given that his approach on climate is so different from Al Gore's, does he feel that this award is in any way sending a message about his own policies?

MR. FRATTO: I'm not sure what -- no, I don't see it that way at all. No.

Q Does he think, though, that the award will place pressure on him and on the Bush administration to do more quickly, and to maybe fall into line with what other countries want, which are mandatory caps on emissions?

MR. FRATTO: No.

Labels: Air Force One, Al Gore, Global Warming, Nobel Prize, President Bush, Press Gaggle, Tony Fratto

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:20 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/11/07 (President Bush Attending Dalai Lama's Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony)
— Thursday, October 11, 2007 —

MS. PERINO: Matt.

Q Dana, China has complained bitterly about the plans for the Dalai Lama to receive the Congressional Gold Medal next week and, by extension, the President's plan to attend that ceremony. Can you respond to that? And is there any indication the President will meet face to face with the Dalai Lama?

MS. PERINO: Well, I wouldn't rule that out, but I have nothing to announce for you in terms of a meeting with the Dalai Lama. If you'll recall, when we were in Australia at the APEC meeting, the President told President Hu that he would be attending the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony, and the President and Mrs. Bush look forward to attending it.

The President will make brief remarks, and he will reiterate our view that the Dalai Lama is a great spiritual leader. He leads a movement that is aimed not only for independence from China but for the rights of the Tibetan people.* And the President wants -- is going to -- let me see, I guess I can announce -- I just had it here -- I knew that there was a meeting in the works but I didn't know it had been confirmed. He will meet with the President on October 16th, the day before.

Q At the White House?

MS. PERINO: At the White House.

Q Can I follow up on that?

MS. PERINO: Sure.

Q The President is concerned about relations with Turkey, and has opposed a resolution which is non-binding in one House of Congress, right, the genocide -- why is he not afraid of relations with China being damaged by actually meeting with the Dalai Lama in public for the first time ever on Wednesday?

MS. PERINO: Well, the President has met with the Dalai Lama many times; we've released photographs of that so that we'd have a -- there is a public record of the President meeting with the Dalai Lama.

He -- the President had a good conversation with President Hu when we were in Australia and told him that we would be welcoming the Dalai Lama to the United States, that the President would be going to the Capitol, as he does every year, for the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony.

Q So you're saying it's no big deal that the President will actually be at a public event for the first time with the Dalai Lama?

MS. PERINO: I think that the President -- first and foremost, he told President Hu that, back the first week of September of this year. This is not -- this should not come as news to the Chinese that the President is going to be attending. And this is a spiritual leader who is fighting for freedom and democracy, which the President is supporting as well.

And what you're talking about yesterday is the President referring to something that had happened in 1915 with the Ottoman Empire, and the House of Representatives having many tasks in front of it, including passing appropriations bills, even appointing in the House side conferees to talk about how we're going to spend the American taxpayers' money. They could work on closing the -- permanently closing the intelligence gap by passing the FISA legislation. There's a lot of things that the House could be doing and the Senate could be doing, rather than passing resolutions, talking about historical actions in 1915.

So he will go next week --

Q Is it not a big -- so you're saying that the Wednesday public ceremony is not a big deal?

MS. PERINO: Well, we would hope that the Chinese leader would get to know the Dalai Lama as the President sees him, as a spiritual leader and someone who wants peace. And that's what the President will -- that's what the President urges in meetings. He understands that the Chinese have concerns about this. They were expressed to the President as well in Australia. He's well aware that there are different feelings about this. He believes that as a leader and as the President of the United States, and someone who always attends a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony, that he is going to go and he will proudly be there to witness the event.

Labels: China, Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, Dalai Lama, Dana Perino, President Bush, Press Briefing, Tibet, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 9:00 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/10/07 (Armenian Genocide Resolution)
— Wednesday, October 10, 2007 —

Q The President said today that the Armenia genocide resolution was not the right response to the historic mass killings. What is the -- what does he consider to be the correct response?

MS. PERINO: One thing the President has done every year since he got here is issue a presidential message. This year it was on April 24, 2007. And one of the things the President said in it -- and I quote -- is that "I join my fellow Americans and Armenian people around the world in commemorating this tragedy and honoring the memory of the innocent lives that were taken. The world must never forget this painful chapter of its history." The statement is much longer than that, but the President believes that that is the way to deal with this historic tragic situation.

Q What does he think, in real terms, the consequences of passing the resolution would be?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think you also heard from Secretary -- the President and Secretary Rice and Secretary Gates heard from General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker and Admiral Fallon this morning and they got an update on it. We've obviously heard from the Turkish government over time that they do not want to see this resolution passed in the House of Representatives. It's come up over the years. But also, right now we have 160,000 of our troops in harm's way in Iraq, and Turkey has been a very valuable ally and their strong reaction -- negative reaction -- about this resolution is what caused the President to come out today and ask members of Congress to oppose it.

Q What do we think that Turkey will do?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that's a hypothetical and I'm not going to comment on it. I'd refer you to the Turks for any comment that they want to make on it. I just know that Secretary Rice and Secretary Gates felt strongly enough, after hearing from the commanders on the ground, that they needed to go and make a public statement asking Congress to oppose it.

Q Is Turkey blackmailing the United States?

MS. PERINO: Absolutely not. I think that they've made their position very clear over the years. And the President has also, through presidential messages, made it clear how we feel about the Armenian people, and understand the heartache and frustration that they feel about what happened in 1915.

Q Turkey has not shown hesitancy in the past to influence United States' thinking by either allowing troops to come through or there's landing rights issues. There's lots of ways in which they can influence. So if the war on terror -- they know their role in the United States war on terror, and they're saying, don't do this, what else are you supposed to make of it?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that they are making their points clear, just like we make our points clear to other governments, as well. And we do believe that the Turks and the Armenians should have a discussion and work this out amongst themselves. And they are having discussions. We've encouraged those and I think that's the -- where it is best dealt with. The United States House of Representatives has a lot of business before it, including passing any of our -- or getting conferees appointed to the appropriations bills so that we can actually get the budget underway. So there's a lot of work that they could be doing rather than this.

Q One last follow. In terms of understanding sort of the power of the word "genocide," what is the biggest problem the Turks have communicated that they have an issue with it being called a genocide as opposed to a tragedy?

MS. PERINO: I'll have to refer you to this Turkish government for that. I don't -- I'm not going to speak for them.

Labels: Armenia, Dana Perino, Genocide, Press Briefing, Resolutions, Turkey, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 6:30 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/9/07 (Nuclear Arms in the Middle East)
— Tuesday, October 09, 2007 —

MS. PERINO: Helen.

Q -- White House has a driving interest in keeping nuclear arms out of Iran. I'd like to ask you, does any country in the Middle East have nuclear arms?

MS. PERINO: Oh, I would leave it to those countries to announce whether they do or not. I think that there's public information about that, Helen.

Q No, no, no, I want to know if the White House knows that there -- what do you mean? They're not going to announce it.

MS. PERINO: I'm not prepared to say anything beyond what has been publicly stated --

Q You don't know whether any other country in the Middle East has nuclear arms?

MS. PERINO: Helen, I will let those countries speak for themselves.

Q Or do you refuse to say?

MS. PERINO: I'll just refuse to say it.

Labels: Dana Perino, Helen, Iran, Middle East, Nuclear Arms, Press Briefing, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 8:46 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/5/07 (United States Flag)
— Friday, October 05, 2007 —

Q The Baltimore Sun, among other media, reported that when Republican presidential candidates appeared at Maryland's Morgan State University, that university refused to display the United States flag, despite a protest from Congressman Duncan Hunter. And my question: Since the President is head of the Republican Party, what was his reaction to this Morgan State U.S. flag banning, which was nationally televised by PBS?

MS. PERINO: I don't know, I haven't talked to him about it. But, obviously, he would have liked to see more participation at the debate from the Republicans.

Q Well, he believes that they should have the United States flag above that presidential debate, doesn't he?

MS. PERINO: I think that a university or a college can make their own decisions about that.

Q But doesn't the President believe the flag should --

MS. PERINO: The President loves the flag.

Kelly. (Laughter.)

Q He loves the flag. I want to know does he believe the flag should have been displayed there, or not, as Congressman Duncan Hunter --

MS. PERINO: I think it's a decision that's up to the college.

Q A bulletin that the President loves the flag.

Labels: Dana Perino, President Bush, Press Briefing, Republican Candidates, United States Flag, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 10:21 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/4/07 (Secret Interrogation Memos)
— Thursday, October 04, 2007 —

MS. PERINO: Deb?

Q Just generally, does the administration -- does the President believe that head-slapping and simulated drowning are necessary tactics to use against suspected terrorists to keep America safe?

MS. PERINO: Let me take a step back. In the days after 9/11, when we were getting a steady stream of intelligence about potential new attacks, the President faced a lot of challenges. And he asked his national security team to make sure that we designed and made sure that within the laws we had all the tools that we needed in order to keep this country safe and to prevent another attack.

In this new war, which is an unprecedented war, facing an enemy unlike we've ever faced before, sometimes -- oftentimes the best information that you get is from the terrorists themselves. They know where the other terrorists are hiding and what the other terrorists are planning. And to win the war on terror we must be able to detain them, interrogate them, question them, and when appropriate, prosecute them -- in America -- when we capture them here in America and on battlefields around the world. The policy of the United States is not to torture. The President has not authorized it, he will not authorize it.

But he had done everything within the corners of the law to make sure that we prevent another attack on this country, which is what we have done in this administration. I am not going to comment on any specific alleged techniques. It is not appropriate for me to do so. And to do so would provide the enemy with more information for how to train against these techniques. And so I am going to decline to comment on those, but I will reiterate to you once again that we do not torture. We want to make sure that we keep this country safe.

And I think another thing that everyone should keep in mind is that here in this country, it's quite a testament that even though we have a sworn enemy of the United States that has declared war on us and has acted upon that and killed thousands of our own citizens here just seven -- six years ago, we are still having a debate to talk about how we should make sure that we treat people, and that we don't torture them. That is quite a testament to this country. And the President is very proud to lead it.

Q Some of the members of Congress are already upset that they weren't aware of these second memos that are classified, and have asked for the administration to release them. What's the administration's position on why a briefing was released about what they are about?

MS. PERINO: Well -- I would have to refer you to Department of Justice and also the Central Intelligence Agency. As I understand it, appropriate members of Congress have been briefed. Releasing classified information is not prudent, it is not a smart thing to do. So I -- let me refer you to them to talk about the procedures that they went through to talk to members of Congress.

Dana Perino | Interrogation | Press Briefing | War on Terror | White House Press Corps

Labels: Dana Perino, Interrogation, Press Briefing, War on Terror, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 6:55 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/2/07 (Iraq War Tax and S-CHIP)
— Tuesday, October 02, 2007 —

Q Dana, on Iraq, Congressman Murtha and some other Democrats are now talking about a war tax, they're talking about a new surcharge that would pay for the war in Iraq. They say it will raise about $150 billion a year. Is that dead on arrival at the White House, or does the President think maybe there should be some sacrifice to pay for the war?

MS. PERINO: Well, we've always known that Democrats seem to revert to type and they are willing to raise taxes on just about anything. There's no need to increase taxes. The President has shown how if we prioritize and if we get the spending bills done in a clean way, we can actually have a surplus in our budget by 2012. We don't see any need to raise the taxes.

Q But when you talk about priorities, tomorrow we're expecting the President is going to veto the S-CHIP bill over saving $30 billion, and meanwhile you're spending hundreds of billions of dollars in the war in Iraq --

MS. PERINO: But the President -- the President's first and foremost responsibility is making sure that Americans are safe, including children are safe. And, frankly, that's Congress's main responsibility, as well. And that's where the priorities are. I think that anyone -- I think it's apples and oranges to try to compare S-CHIP to funding for the troops.

Q Well, they're all in the same federal budget, you do have to pick priorities on what you're spending money on, don't you?

MS. PERINO: What the President wants is for S-CHIP to revert back to what is the original intent of the law, which is that the neediest children should be taken care of first. That's not what the law that they sent to the President does -- well, we don't have it yet, we'll get it soon -- but that's not what that law does. I would also say that, in a time when Democrats are very concerned, supposedly, about people being worried about how they're going to pay for their mortgage, that raising taxes on them doesn't seem like the wisest fiscal policy. In a time when they think that they want to increase funding for children's health care, they're actually wanting to pay for it with a cigarette tax, which includes -- people who smoke are usually -- the majority are in the low-income bracket. And so they're raising taxes on something to pay for a middle-class entitlement. It's just completely irresponsible. Stop the madness on Capitol Hill.

Q And yet 70 percent of the public in the latest poll yesterday, an ABC/Washington Post poll, supports that increase in the S-CHIP, but opposes the $190 billion in war funding spending.

MS. PERINO: Well, you know, I don't know how all those questions were asked in the poll, and you might want to take a look at that and be a little bit skeptical. But I think that people would agree that we -- well, and also what I said yesterday: Republicans often taken on really unpopular positions because it does sound great to say that you're going to spend a lot more on children's health care, but when you start digging deeper and realize that they've got a funding cliff, that basically in 2011, there's no money left for the S-CHIP program. They don't fund it sustainably. And on this idea of raising taxes on the American people right now to fund a war, well, does that sunset? Do they wait for al Qaeda to wave a white flag and then those taxes are going to go away? Does anyone seriously believe that the Democrats are going to end these new taxes that they're asking the American people to pay at a time when it's not necessary to pay them? I just think it's completely fiscally irresponsible, and the President won't go along with it.

Bret.

Q Dana, can I follow --

Q Who's paying for this war?

Q On that line, Representative Obey said today that Democrats will not pass a supplemental spending bill for the Iraq war until next year, in an effort to pressure the President to change course. All of this, they say, is designed that if you don't want the taxes, end the war. What's the response to all that?

MS. PERINO: Well, they're asking -- I don't know exactly what they're asking for; I can't think like they do. But what they're -- I think what they want is for all the troops to come home. And if it's an immediate end to the war that they want, they've already proven several times that they're not going to be able to get that law passed. So if you look also out on the Senate side, I think it was the Gregg-Murray resolutions from last year that said, no matter what your position is on the war, we're not going to risk not funding the troops. And I can't imagine that the Senate is going to go back on their word.

And many of these members of Congress went to Iraq over the recess, during August, and I would find it hard to believe that they would tell these troops that they're not going to provide them the funding.

Labels: Dana Perino, Iraq, Press Briefing, S-CHIP, Taxes, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 6:41 PM

White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 10/1/07 (S-CHIP)
— Monday, October 01, 2007 —

MS. PERINO: Keith.

Q Dana, why is it that there are so many children that haven't been included in the S-CHIP program? It's an administration-run program --

MS. PERINO: Well, no, actually it's run by the states and it's federally matched by the federal government.

Q Okay.

MS. PERINO: But you might ask the states why they haven't been able to do that.

Q Well, should the administration have requested more money sooner to provide the states -- I mean, that's the solution now is --

MS. PERINO: One of the things that we did is we provided the states with flexibility early on and unfortunately the flexibility meant mission creep and allowed some children who weren't supposed to be on the program and adults to be added to the program. We want to get the program back to its original intent.

Q How did those 750,000 children slip through the cracks, that you know that number -- is supposed to be fact -- that are not on?

MS. PERINO: Well, again this is a program that is administered by the states and they need to reach out to those families and make sure that they know that the service is available, the program is available to them, and make sure that they know that they can take advantage of it and get their children enrolled.

Q Thank you.

Labels: Dana Perino, Press Briefing, S-CHIP, White House Press Corps

Posted by White House Press Corps @ 8:16 PM