Shorter Meet the Press

Here is the short version of Tim Russert’s interview with POTUS on MTP:

You resisted the forming an Intelligence Commission for a long time. Why?
We’re fighting a war on terror. My job is to protect the American people. I’ making the hard decisions.

Why postpone the report til March?
Don’t want to politicize it.

Will you testify?
No.

Is Tenet’s job in jeopardy?
No.

Will you testify in front of the 9/11 Commission?
No.

Submit to questioning?
Maybe.

Grassley said we will capture OBL this year. Your reaction?
Maybe we will.

Do you know where OBL is?

No comment.

In March 2003, your administration said there was doubt that SH had leathal weapons. That turned out to be untrue. Your response?

Based on the intel, I expected to find them. Kay said Saddam had the capacity for lethal weapons. I acted to protect America. Saddam had the capacity for lethal weapons. He was dangerous. Can’t wait until the threat is imminent. By then it’s too late.

The CIA’s reports had lots of qualifiers. You, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell said there was no doubt at all. Your reaction?

No doubt in my mind. Kay said Saddam had the capacity for lethal weapons. He was dangerous. Can’t wait until the threat is imminent. By then it’s too late.

Can you launch a pre-emptive strike with less than ironclad assurances?

I acted based on the best intel available.

You said he could act NOW to attack us. It was not true. Your reaction?

Congress saw the same intel and voted yes. UN voted for 1441. We warned him. Disarm or die. We meant what we said.

Sense in the US that the CIA intel was ambiguous but you punched it up. The next time you warn the world, will it not be the boy who cried wolf?

[Big pause.] We took the available intel and acted. Saddam was a madman. We got him.

The world is full of madmen. Why Saddam?

We negotiated all we could. We haven’t reached the end of negotiations in NK or Iran.

The VPOTUS said we would be welcomed in Iraq as liberators. Was that a miscalculation?

We were welcomed.

Were you surprised at the level of resistance?

No.

If the Iraqi people choose to become an Islamic extremist government, will that be OK with you?

They won’t choose that; Chalabi and the rest of them said so.

In 2000, you said you were against nation-building. Isn’t that what we’re doing now?

That’s a trick question. The other half of my statement was that we need our soldiers to be trained to fight and win. We are.

Are you willing to allow the UN to have a central role in the rebuilding of Iraq?

They will not have a central role in spending our money.

Will the UN be given a central role in the transfer of democracy to Iraq?

They will have a vital role.

Given what Wolfowitz said was the primary reason to go to war (disarm Saddam), was it worth 500 lives and 3000 injuries to go to war given that there were no WMD?

Yes. To the parents: Saddam was a madman. Kay said he was more dangerous than we thought. A free Iraq will change the world.

Was this a war of choice or a war of necessity?

[confused by question] No choice. Necessity. Intel said Saddam was dangerous. Kay said Saddam was dangerous. I did the right thing. No choice.

Terry Mac said you were AWOL? Your reaction?

[big sigh] Political season’s here. I was honorably discharged. Don’t denigrate the Guard.

The records show no evidence that you reported for duty in Alabama. Your reaction?

The records are wrong. I reported. I was honorably discharged.

Yet you left 8 months early. Why?

I was studying for my MBA.

Will you release all the files? The paystubs, etc.?

Yes. Everyone has already been through the files in Colorado anyway. Besides I released them in 2000.

Did you support the war in Vietnam?

Yes. But I learned this lesson: When politicians make military decisions, it’s bad.

Since you took office, we’ve lost 2.2 million jobs, a surplus of $281 billion is now a deficit of $521 billion and the national debt has gone from $5.7 trillion to $7 trillion. Why should the nation re-hire you as CEO?

I have led the nation through a time of tremendous stress. Recession began just as I arrived; our country was attacked; corporate scandals came to light; the decisoin on Iraq was made. I acted. I led the way to recovery. Your chart only shows the bad numbers. The recent trends are up.

You said your first tax-cut would lead to 800 thousand new jobs. You said your second tax-cut would lead to 1 million new jobs. It hasn’t happened. Your reaction?

It’s happening. I’m encouraging small business and the entnrepreneurial spirit.

The GAO says that the current fiscal policies are unsustainable. To balance the budget by 2040, taxes will either have to double or spending will have to be cut in half. Your reaction?

I don’t know what their assumptions are. My budget will cut the deficit by half in five years.

Rush Limbaugh, the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation call you a big spender. Your reaction?

They’re wrong. We have forced discretionary spending down compared to the previous administration. We’re at war, remember.

Every previous war-time POTUS has raised taxes to ensure the success of the war effort. They have not cut taxes. They have not drained the treasury in a time of war. Your reaction?

Our goal is to stimulate the economy by giving people back their own money. My main concern is for the guy looking for a job.

Will you pledge that you will have no more tax cuts until the budget is balanced?

Hypothetical question. It depends on the state of the economy.

You came to Washington saying you wanted to change the tone. Yet exit polls show 70% of Democrats and Independents alike are angry at you for being a divider. Your reaction?

I’m working hard to unite the nation. It’s a hard job.

Around the world, you are historically unpopular. Your reaction?

President Reagan was unpopular too.

Polls show you trailing Sen. Kerry by 5-7%. He was recently quoted as saying that you are a cardboard cutout President. He said he knew you back at Yale and you are the same guy now as you were then. He said you belonged to Skull & Bones together. Your reaction?

I don’t remember him. I can’t comment on Skull & Bones. He’s being political.

[here Russert quotes a number and looks at Bush for a reaction. Anyone know what that was about?]

Are you prepared to lose? What will you do if you lose?

I will not lose.

What are the biggest issues as you see them this time around?

Who is best suited to use the power of the POTUS? Who is best suited to deal with a changing world? Who best knows the hearts of the American people? I have shown good judgement on all of these counts.

Thank You, Mr. President.

Posted by: Ara Rubyan at February 8, 2004 12:16 PM

Pre-interview synopsis is here…

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040208/D80J4ANO0.html

Observations:

From someone who has been shown to be untrustworthy, saying “They’re just wrong.” [on the AWOL question] doesn’t cut it. We got the torn attendance record that reminds me of “the dog ate my homework”, and his friends saying, “yeah, we saw the dog with some papers”. Why can’t the CinC get the Guard to release his records? This one isn’t going away. GWB got a pass on this last time, people really thought that they could look into his heart. Now some suspect that he can’t be trusted. Show us the beef.

He’d be glad to visit with them [the new (lack of) intelligence commission]. How ‘bout if he released the records to the 9/11 inquiry instead of doing the Clinton Waffle. Didn’t that make you mad when Clinton did it? But if George does it, maybe he won’t get re-elected. Oooooh, can’t have that.

Why no questions about the suspected felons in the VPs office regarding the payback on Valerie Plame? And…what is the admin doing about that? Where is uber cop Ashcroft? I bet he is reviewing the Super Bowl half time show for the 97th time. He and Novak are probably out for cocktails at Kitty’s.

Can’t resist (if you’re dead certain that Bush has to win, please don’t continue, you may hurt yourself) Bush’s folksy, Way-Out-West imagery lifted from Reagan brings another image to mind. Those shops with the false fronts to make the buildings look two story…just like GWB...one story, nothing upstairs.

He’s in over his head…being President takes a heart AND a brain. Kerry takes on the hard assignments himself. George should get his dad or his dad’s friends to find him another plaything.

Posted by: carl at February 8, 2004 12:31 PM

Just one observation: the Bush-hating crowd is sick, sick, sick. And enjoying it immensely.

Posted by: popd at February 8, 2004 04:21 PM