Molt Be Blog

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Bush Press Conference - UPDATED (see bottom)

Listening right now to Bush Press Conference on wnyc:
UPDATES Below:
Choice quotes so far Re Harriet Miers:

  • "She knows the kinds of judge that I want on the bench."
  • "her philosophy won't change and that's important to me."
  • Q: "Are you worried about charges of cronyism?"
    A: "This woman deserves to be on the bench. I picked the best person I could find. People know we're close. But y'gotta understand, because of our closeness I know her as a person... To me, strength of character matters a lot and because I know Harriet as a friend I know her strength of character."
  • Q: "Have you gleaned Ms. Miers' opinion on abortion?"
    A: "I have no litmus test."
    Q: "Sir, you've always said their is no litmus test..."
    A: "And I'll say it again, there is no litmus test."
    Q: "But you've known her a long time, you're saying you've never discussed abortion."
    A: Nope.

    On Iraq:
    W: "More Iraqis are able to take the fight to the enemy... There are over 30 Iraqi battalions in the lead."
    Hrmm... I'm not so sure on this, but I just know he's going to repeat it a thousand times until I believe him. Nice metrics! Espcially given this article: Only One Iraqi Battalion Ready for Combat

    On Fiscal matters:
  • Q: "Are you still a conservative?"
    A: "Yep. And proud of it."

    On Valerie Plame:
  • Q: "Will you remove anyone from your admin who's indicted?"
    A: "I've said it before and I'll say it now, I'm not going to talk about the investigation."
    Q: "But would you..."
    A: "Let's just leave it. Ok, let's see here... Elizabeth!"
    Oooh... it just got good with a question about racial divides and the black vote in 2008. I'll link to the full transcript once CNN or the Washington Post get it posted.

    - - - UDPATE - - -
    Here's the [Transcript] and here's the answer to that question about getting more of black vote in 2008:
    Just got to keep asking for the vote.

    First of all, the Republican Party should never take a vote for granted and neither should the Democrat Party, OK. And therefore that means you've got to go out and work hard for the vote and talk about what you believe.

    And I tried to do so, with not a lot of success, although I improved.

    BUSH: But I was disappointed, frankly, in the vote I got in the African-American community. I was.

    I've done my best to elevate people to positions of authority and responsibility -- not just positions, but positions where they can actually make a difference in the lives of people.

    I put people in my Cabinet. I put people in my sub-Cabinet. I've elevated people from all walks of life, because I believe there's a responsibility for the president to reach out. And so it's not a matter of tone, it's also a matter of action.

    And just got to keep working at it.

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