Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Okay, I've got two things for you -- I said I would have the radio address preview and tomorrow's commencement address. In this week's radio address the President will outline several important legislative matters pending in front of Congress and note the dwindling number of days they have left in session to get this work done.

He will call on them to pass a war supplemental that focuses on the needs of our military; to support our military families by passing an extension of the GI Bill that makes it easier for our troops to transfer unused education benefits to their spouses and children; ensure that our intelligence professionals have the tools to monitor terrorist communications effectively and quickly -- that's the FISA law; approve the Colombia free trade agreement, which would open a growing market for American goods, services and crops; confirm nominees to important government positions, including Steve Preston, who the President nominated to be the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration; reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to ensure they focus on their housing mission; and allow state housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance sub-prime loans. And at a time when Americans are concerned about gas prices, Congress needs to pass legislation to expand domestic energy production.

Tomorrow night the President will travel to Greenville, South Carolina to deliver the commencement address at Furman University. It is a speech that calls on students to help build a culture of responsibility. It will reflect on how he went into public service because he was concerned about the culture and how he is heartened by the progress that has been made, especially in the young people who are embracing bedrock values of faith and family. He will talk about the importance of service to others, including volunteering and military service and being a part of the faith-based communities; contributing to the civic and economic life of the country by voting and public engagement and entrepreneurship; and being accountable to your family and to yourself -- parenting, strengthening the family and living lives of integrity.

That's it. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Congressman Wexler has called on Scott McClellan to testify before Congress, and Congressman Conyers

MS. PERINO: I checked on it for you. The White House Counsel's Office takes these things when we have a formal request. We don't have a formal request yet. When we get one, that's when we look at the request, weigh it fully -- as we do with all the others -- and it's just not a decision that we would make prior to getting a formal request. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Conceivably? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Hypothetically -- which I'm not supposed to answer hypotheticals -- (laughter) -- yes, I think so. The law would allow for that, but by saying that I'm not suggesting that that's what would happen or not happen. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, he's been regularly briefed. I think he's read a lot of the articles about it, but I don't anticipate -- he may or may not read the book. I don't know, we haven't talked about that. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Sure, as I talked to you about all week long -- I know I haven't been here for you, but we were out on the road -- (laughter.) Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: We've been out on the road; I've missed the podium greatly. But as I said all along, that the President expressed disappointment and sadness at the situation, surprise by the charges that he has read about that are in the book.

And we've known for a while that this is what the tone of the book would be. Of course last November we knew because of the excerpt that came out, and then more recently, as with all manuscripts, the White House Counsel's Office has an opportunity to look at manuscripts for any possible classified information or any means for executive privilege to be asserted. None of them were in this case. So we've known for a little bit of time that this was coming. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Sure. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: That doesn't make them true. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q But what I'm saying, though, isn't it the fact that a former member of the inner circle is saying

MS. PERINO: I don't believe -- no, and I don't think that any time that we have argued about this that we've argued just about the messenger when it comes to Democrats either. We argue about it on the merits. And our central objection to the book to the book is that it is not based in fact.

And I think that one of the reasons we are puzzled and surprised and disappointed and saddened by it is because the charge, the loaded charge, in the book is that the President and his senior advisors purposefully misled people into war, and that we sent our young men and women into war, knowing something that we weren't telling the American people.

That is not true. And several independent non-partisan reviews have been done about pre-war intelligence. Is it true that WMD wasn't found? Of course it was. And we admitted that. We have said over and over that the intelligence was wrong. And we have worked very hard at President Bush's direction to change the way the intelligence community works together. But what hurts us is the suggestion that we purposefully sent men and women to war without acknowledging the consequences. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think it's an outrageous claim. I've been here myself for a long time, almost as long -- I've known the President not as long as Scott has, but quite a long time. This is a President who is -- I've never witnessed any self-deception at all. I think it's an absurd claim. And it's such a loaded charge. And you're right, when it comes from somebody like Scott, who was a close friend of many of us here at the White House, those of us who fully supported him before, during and after he was press secretary are disappointed by this and saddened by it. We certainly wish him well. We harbor no ill feelings towards him. We just are really disappointed, and we're going to combat the central premise of the book.

And I don't -- again, when you say that it's different because it's coming from him and not the Democrats -- I've always argued about this on the merits, so regardless of where untruths come from, we're going to push back on them. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q One more. Just in terms of sort of the ongoing battle for public opinion, people who have been

MS. PERINO: I think that's giving this book a lot more weight than it actually carries.

Martha. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Can we just talk about what isn't true in the book? I mean, you go to the part about weapons of

MS. PERINO: Not that I'm aware of. But did we communicate about the war? Yes. And I would point you to the President's speeches -- all the speeches that the President made leading up to it; he made several comprehensive speeches making the case for why Saddam Hussein was a threat, which was, based on the intelligence that we had -- and not only the United States had, but that's what the world had. And in addition to that he talks about -- in his speech especially on February 26, 2003, when he spoke to AEI; it was before I was a part of the press office, so I would encourage you to go back and look at it, as I've had to do myself -- where he talks about that the benefit to a free Iraq would be to the Iraqi people and also to the region, and establishing a change in the Middle East when it comes to freedom and justice and democracy. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think that that was -- well, I think you could go back, you could weigh it -- you know, I'm looking at it, what I have seen is a comprehensive case for confronting Saddam Hussein, and that's what the United Nations of course was talking about, specifically weapons of mass destruction. But there was also a gathering threat in terms of the nexus of working -- for example, paying suicide bombers, paying families of suicide bombers.

And you know better than anyone, Martha, about the buildup to this, the reaction to this. The problem that we have is this -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: But paying them in the Palestinian Territories and in Israel. That's something that Saddam Hussein himself said. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: You know, it's a term that I don't necessarily use. I come out here, I answer your questions, I answer them to the best of my ability based on the information and the facts that I have. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Sure it is. That's part of it. And my job is to be his spokesperson. But I also, as many of you in this room know -- especially you -- that I work very hard on behalf of the press as well. I defend the press, I advocate for the press and I make sure that all of you have answers as quickly as possible to the best of my ability every single day -- Saturdays and Sundays included.

Ann. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q In the book it reports that there came a time when the administration ignored contrary evidence

MS. PERINO: No, I don't necessarily think so. Again, I wasn't here, but I would point you to -- at least three that I can think of -- independent reviews of pre-war intelligence and the decision to go to war that all came to the conclusion that nobody purposefully misled anybody in this endeavor. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, it was close -- it was tightly held. And in fact I haven't read the whole thing myself. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: The Counsel's Office is the recipient of the manuscript. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: As I said, he was briefed about it by members of senior staff who were aware of it, but it was very tightly held thing. It was not circulated and of course I think you can know that it was pretty tightly held from our end because we didn't get -- we didn't give any reporters or anyone else outside the information or the manuscript. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't know for sure, but I don't believe so.*

Mike. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I'm not -- I won't question his motivations. He's free to have his opinions and he's free to have a look back at his period. I think one of the reasons I think it's sad is for those of who worked with him and saw how much he loved being press secretary, and how much he loved being a part of the back and forth in this room, and how much he delved into policy and tried to understand it as best as he possibly could, that to realize now that he looks back and looks so unfavorably upon his time at the White House -- I think that's one of the things that's really sad.

I mean, all of us are moderately talented people made very special because of an opportunity, and, you know, you can choose to use that opportunity in any way that you wish, and he's chosen this path. It's not a path that I will choose, that many others have not chosen. But I think that this is quite a unique circumstance, and I think that's one of the reasons it's sad. He's obviously very displeased and discontented with his time here. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q How about the idea of somebody from the inner circle writing a book, whether it's a Republican

MS. PERINO: I think there's something to be said for that. I think that one of the things that you have in any organization -- be it your news organizations when you have editorial meetings or here at the White House, but especially here at the White House -- that you want to have some level of trust that when you speak up, that it's going to be held in confidence; when you push back on something, that that is held as -- in confidence. And if it's not, I do think that that's difficult for people necessarily. But I don't know of anybody at the White House who is sitting around a room thinking, oh my gosh, is he taking notes and going to report on this later? I think that is one of the reasons, when I say we were so surprised -- and not just puzzled, in terms of surprise -- at the tone of this book, of the language that he chooses to use; that's what is so disappointing and surprising to us. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I really don't care who he votes for.

Connie. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, frankly, Connie, this isn't about me. Whether or not I -- what I care -- what I think on any issue is of no interest to any of you -- maybe until I leave and write a book -- (laughter.) But my job -- any press secretary's job is to articulate the President's positions and message, and answer your questions. And that's what any press secretary is supposed to do. So I'll continue to do it for the next seven months, or for however long he'll have me here. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Have I had a crisis of conscience? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, I have not. But I think that if I feel the need to speak up at any of the number of meetings that I have, or my -- if I need to step through the open door that the President has provided for me, I will do so without any concern about my future. And I have -- you have to be confident in going out -- coming up here every day, and I am. I have no crisis of confidence. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: They have to all make that decision on their own.

Anybody else on this? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I'm going to go here to Jim. You had one this morning.

Go ahead. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: In the Palestinian Territories? I saw that report this morning. Obviously we want people in the Middle East, students in the Middle East, to be able to come to America. The President thinks it's critically important to have that type of exchange, cultural exchange, between American students and the Palestinian students or Middle Eastern students. And in fact it's one of the things he talked about in the World Economic Forum speech just a couple of weeks ago when we were in Egypt.

It's something that he has asked Secretary Rice and Secretary Spellings to specifically concentrate on, and Ambassador Hughes when she was here. And we have made strides. But I think Hamas obviously has made it very difficult for students to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, like the Fulbright scholarships. I don't specifically have information from the White House, and I'll have to refer you to the State Department for anything more on that. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: It's okay. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I would refer you to the Department of Commerce on that. I don't have anything specifically here. I know that they are looking into the matter over there, and for security reasons we don't comment on particular matters that are being investigated. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, we are continually working to increase our capabilities to make sure that all of our information is safeguarded; that any cyber risk that is out there we take into account, and we are constantly trying to work on it. Other governments are, too, so we take that into account. We're always looking for ways to safeguard our systems and we'll continue to do so. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I've not heard him say otherwise. I don't know. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that private sector corporations are probably just as concerned about their own information as we are here in the government. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I just don't -- I don't know. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Wow, now that's a hypothetical I'm not going to answer.

Olivier. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: The one from yesterday -- or was it two days ago? I can't remember; it's been kind of a long week. Well, we are deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact, not only of just cluster munitions, but really the whole range of munitions that are used at war. It's a moral obligation to clean up, and we do so. You need to try to do everything you can to clean up after a conflict zone to make sure that there aren't innocent victims that are hurt with unexploded weapons that are lying around on the ground.

We've played an important role in it since 1993. We've spent more than $1.2 billion on such cleanup. No other country in the world comes close to that. We are strongly committed to working to address this problem. I would refer you to the State Department because I believe that they will be able to articulate for you some of the disagreements we may have with the tactics or the venue for addressing this problem. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I would expect that if he comes to the AIPAC conference that the President would meet with him. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't think the President has any plans to be anywhere but the White House next week for any sort of meeting. So if he comes, it would be here at the White House. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Not that I know of. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Dana, two quick questions, please. One, as far as Scott is concerned, we all have known him very

MS. PERINO: I think I'll just leave that one alone. What's your second question? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q And second one is that, as far as terrorism is concerned in Afghanistan and on the Pakistan border

MS. PERINO: What's your question? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Yes. You might not have heard, the President this morning spoke to President Musharraf. That was followed on his meeting with Prime Minister Gilani in Sharm el Sheikh, which was just a couple of weeks ago. We are very concerned, but we believe that the Pakistanis are, as well, and that we need to continue to make sure that we can confront the terrorists there on the border. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Okay, can we do one? It's decision time. (Laughter.) Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q I have one question that has nothing to do with your -- (laughter.) This morning The Washington

MS. PERINO: Certainly not. I think it's referring to the U.S. Air Force Academy commencement ceremony, and the President had a wonderful time with 1,012 cadets, personally acknowledging each of them. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Good morning. I don't have a lot to start off. He obviously had the meeting this morning with the President of the Mormon Church and had about -- I guess it lasted almost an hour. He hadn't met this President before -- I think that was the President's fourth visit -- and they had an hour-long visit. Topics ranged on issues everywhere from the President's dad, Bush '41 -- the current President of the Mormon Church knows President Bush '41 and Mrs. Barbara Bush very well, so they talked a little bit about that. But also talked about foreign policy issues, Middle East peace, domestic issues ranging from the economy and energy, and then a little bit about what the President will do afterwards. So they had a good visit.

And now we're on our way to Kansas, where the President will do a fundraiser for Nick Jordan, who is running for office in -- I think it's the 3rd district of Kansas. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Dana, I wanted to ask you, I know you don't want to go line-by-line with the whole book thing,

MS. PERINO: I don't know. Obviously I wasn't there and -- obviously I don't know the context. I think the -- it's hard for me to say. I don't have the book in front of me either and I don't know.

But what I do know is that what we have said before, which is defending the President's decision to go to war is something that we have done repeatedly, and the suggestion that the President had sent Joe Wilson to Africa was false. And so I don't know if that was what it was in regards to or not, so I'm -- I don't know. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't think that's what Scott says in the book and I think that everyone should go back and look at it a little bit more carefully. I don't think that's what he says. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I'm not aware of that, no. And I also know that President Bush would never ask anyone to knowingly go out and lie. But do we defend the President's record vigorously? Yes, you bet we do. And I think -- parts of the book that suggest that there was propaganda or -- you know, I just don't know how substantiated that is in the book. I would ask to -- you know, where, when, how, specifically? What are you talking about, were there charts, were there et cetera that you thought were lies? And I don't think that he's saying that either. So I just question the accounts.

Anything else? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: About John McCain? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I would submit to you that whether it's closed press or open press for the fundraisers you've been to, the message is very similar: about Republicans and the issues that we stand for, the importance of national security, the importance of keeping taxes low for the economy, the compassionate conservatism types of things.

People are interested about what it's like to be President; he talks a little bit about what it's been like to be President. Oftentimes he'll give sort of a visual tour of the Oval Office, describe that. Sometimes he talks about significant moments in his presidency. You've heard him talk a little bit about that time he gave a speech in Bucharest when the rainbow came out. That's a story that he likes to tell to audiences and I think it helps them understand.

He also likes to remind people when we talk about the global war on terror how it's an ideological struggle, it will take a long time, but that he believes in the power of freedom and liberty. And if you remember the story about how he, as the son of George H.W. Bush who fought against the Japanese -- I know that you all have heard it a lot, but I'm telling you something, people like to hear this message and it's important. People can understand it and people can then understand when the President talks about 60 years from now what we could be enjoying in terms of democracy and freedom and liberty and justice in the Middle East. That's where the President takes a little bit of a look back at history and then talks about the reasons for why we have to stand strong and committed. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: That he thinks he is the best person to be President. That he stands strong for what he believes in. That he fully understands the global war on terror, and keeping America safe. And that he has the experience necessary to be able to walk in and from day one be a fantastic Commander-in-Chief and leader of the freest nation in the world. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, not recently. But it depends. Sometimes he will; but the past few, no. We've obviously been on a pretty tight schedule. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No. No. They talked a little bit about how their church is growing around the world and -- but they didn't talk about anything specifically religious. They did say that they do pray for the President, they support the presidency, and [are] a very patriotic people. But they didn't talk about any specific thing in terms of their church and their needs, no. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, nothing more to announce. But I think you've heard the President talk before about his plans to have a library and he's a little bit thinking about that -- sort of on the margins. He doesn't have a lot of time to think about it. There are people who are thinking about that for him. But he's interested and I think that -- one thing that I think I was asked last week: And what is the President -- is he upset or is he concerned because he's not going to be President next January?

And the truth is that he doesn't wish for something that's not possible. He thinks the two term system is a really good one and that new fresh eyes and fresh energy is important for our country; and that the peaceful transfer of power that we've been able to establish in our country is a good model for the rest of the world; and that he is excited about continuing to spread the message of freedom and liberty long after he's President.

So I think he's thinking forward just a little bit and looking towards the time when they do go back to Texas. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Yes. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't know. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I'm sorry -- but if the location is a private residence, then the practice is that they're closed. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I saw a brief report about it. I don't know a lot about the decision. I think that I would go back to that the President believes that we should try to make this decision based on a nationwide agreement for the what the definition of a marriage should be, and that activist judges and different states trying to impose something of that importance on the rest of the nation is to be looked at skeptically. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Yes, I'm sure that there is, but again I briefly saw the reports and I would refer you -- let me see if I can get something from the Justice Department -- I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people who analyze the legal ramifications of it. I think the President's point is that judges shouldn't be making these decisions; the people should be making these decisions. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Just one question on Israel -- you had the Defense Minister call for Olmert's resignation this

MS. PERINO: Well, there's no doubt that it obviously takes up some oxygen when you're trying to deal with intense and complex negotiations with the whole of the Middle East, but especially in the Palestinian Territories and Israel. But the President believes that Israeli politics is something that Israelis are going to have to deal with. And setting that aside he believes that the people who are in the government -- in the Palestinian Territories and the Israelis now recognize that in order for both to have a state that is democratic and free, that a Palestinian state needs to be defined. And that's the goal that we're reaching towards for the end of the year. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I believe so. I don't have a specific schedule, but I believe so.

Okay. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Hi, guys. All right. Well, we are on our way now to Utah, after a great morning -- and the President is running a little bit late because it took a little longer for him to shake 1,012 hands, salute them all and take his picture with them. But he had a really fantastic time at the Air Force Academy and thinks they were great hosts. And so we'll try and make up a little bit of time in the air so that we can get to Utah and get on with our events today, which are the fundraisers that you know of.

That's all I've got. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Sure. Well, you will recall that it was last November, right before Thanksgiving when we first heard about the book, when the excerpt came out. I was with the President at the time and told him about it -- we were at Camp David, right after an interview he had just finished.

And at that time, was led to believe that the excerpt was a little bit over-written and not necessarily representative of what the book would be like. And so I believe the original publishing date was sometime earlier this spring, so I've been anticipating the book to come out for a while. I think the June 2nd publishing date has been a little bit more firm recently, and so we knew that it would come out maybe next Monday, with some pre-publicity right before then.

So the President has been aware that it was going to come out. I talked to him a little bit yesterday -- I can't exactly remember where, but on the plane here -- I guess it was on the plane; I don't remember where we were on our way to, since we had three stops yesterday. And his reaction was similar to what I said this morning, which is he is puzzled, and he doesn't recognize this as the Scott McClellan that he hired and confided in and worked with for so many years; and disappointed that if he had these concerns and these thoughts he never came to him or anyone else on the staff that we know of.

So I think it's just a sad situation. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Yes, but I think I may not be the only one; we've known it's been coming for a while, so I'm assuming that other members of senior staff had alerted him. But we didn't really know what was in the book until yesterday -- well, I shouldn't say that, there are some people in the White House who get -- they get on any book chances to review, like from the legal perspective, but it was not widely distributed at all. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't think it's necessary to do that for this situation. You know, you can go through that, look at it yourself. I don't think it's the White House's responsibility to do a fact check of someone's memoirs, where they're rewriting what we all thought was a very different history with him at the White House. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think you can fairly characterize it is as surprised, as well as he thinks it's a sad situation and was disappointed, as I said just a moment ago. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't. I think that if you look at -- look, setting aside his comments about what he now thinks about the war in Iraq, people can argue back and forth as much as they want about the ultimate decision to go to war. I think that the questions about the intelligence being wrong have been answered by the White House. The intelligence was wrong, and we have taken measures to make sure that intelligence failures like that don't happen again. And one of the ways we've done that is by modernizing and improving coordination amongst the intelligence agencies. And by any measure, that coordination is better than it's ever been in the United States. That doesn't mean there was anyone purposefully misled.

So fast-forward to where we are today in Iraq. We have a government led by Prime Minister Maliki that is going after criminal elements on both sectarian sides. We have a government that is increasingly able to sustain itself as it's been able to raise revenue and start paying for its own reconstruction. And there also -- have already had two elections; they're about to have another, coming up this fall. And the surge, as you heard the President say in the Air Force Academy speech, has worked. And Americans, along with others, are winning in -- winning and being successful because of changing strategies. It's a different type of struggle, in terms of an ideological struggle, as well as a counterinsurgency one, where you're trying, as the President said today, [to] help rebuild a country so that it will have a democracy from which to govern, sustain and defend itself.

And so, no, I'm not concerned about that. I don't think that -- I think people will be a little bit more interested into questions about why, if somebody has these concerns now, they wouldn't have brought them up.

I mean, I know that I was very fortunate to be hired by Scott McClellan. He's given me a great opportunity. I then worked for Tony Snow. And I have been around the White House since mid-September 2002. I have always had the opportunity to have a seat at the table, to make my opinions known whenever and to whomever I wanted to or felt I needed to, and I have done. So it's just curious to me why all of a sudden it seems that these were his actual feelings. It's hard for us, especially for me, who has been a very good friend to him. And of course, I wish him well. We all wish him well. Nobody has any ill feelings. We just think it's a sad situation. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I couldn't quantify it for you. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I know on a social basis that I had a lot of contact with he and his wife, sure. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q I'm just kind of curious, in terms of the general -- you've kind of portrayed this as a sad situation

MS. PERINO: I think that horse has been beaten enough. And -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't see any reason for it to do so. As I said, the questions about the intelligence being wrong has been -- have been asked an answered multiple times. And I think that I have had a good experience working both for Scott, for Tony Snow, and now heading up the press office, that I have good relationships with you all in the press corps, ones that are based on honesty and integrity. And I don't think that it ever -- I think that's always been the case since I've been there. So I don't see any reason for us to have to rethink anything at this point. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Never. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: His question was, had I ever heard such concerns? And I said, "Never." Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q The President often talks about, you know, history being the judge. And this is somebody who had

MS. PERINO: I think this is a unique situation. I don't think that this is so much as writing history as rewriting history. And when the President talks about "it will take a while," I think that that is just based on historical fact. I mean, it takes a while for any type of administration to be understood, and I think this is an anomaly. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Even though you don't -- you don't think there are others out there who maybe also were once supporters

MS. PERINO: I'm not saying that's not the case, and I don't know. I don't go around and take a survey. But your question was, do I think that other people are going to turn around 180 degrees and become this -- have these expressions of concerns that they did not voice when they were at the White House. And so the question is, what did you really believe? Did you believe what you said at the time, or do you believe what you believe -- say you believe now? And I'm not going to be a judge of that. You all have to figure that out, or he'll have to answer for it for himself. I mean, I'm not going to -- as Jeremy suggested, the question being, would we go line-by-line through the book -- absolutely not. We have a lot more important things to do than that. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I found that to be strange. People in the White House have to talk to one another on a variety of different subjects. Who knows what the -- if that conversation -- if a conversation took place. Would it be surprising to me if Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, as the Director of Political Affairs Operation and the Chief of Staff to the Vice President, of whom was very important in our reelection efforts and our political efforts, would it be a surprise that they would have a conversation? Absolutely not. What would be a surprise is if they didn't have conversations. So I don't put much stock in that, but I don't know the facts. And I think he admits in the book that he doesn't either.

Anything else? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: The what? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Where was -- no, I'm sorry. Clearly, you can tell from my face I don't know. I haven't been informed about that. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Where was the vote? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Where was the vote? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Sorry, I don't. I'll have to refer you to DOD or State at the moment.

Yes. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think that this is Israeli politics, and they'll have to sort it out themselves.

Okay? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

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MS. PERINO: Okay, we are on our way to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The President had his normal briefings this morning. The first stop of the day is the President will attend a White for Congress and New Mexico Victory Luncheon in Albuquerque. Then we will go to Mesa, Arizona, where he will visit the Silverado Cable Company. And then we will do there a McCain for President and RNC Victory Reception in Phoenix. We will remain overnight in Colorado Springs, and then he has the commencement address in the morning -- of which I have a preview for you in just a moment.

If you can bear with me, I have one other announcement to point out of you -- it might have been lost in the weekend coverage. On Friday the Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives, Jay Hein, he announced that the office will host a Gulf Coast Conference on Disaster Relief and Preparedness in New Orleans on May 29th and 30th. It will feature Mrs. Bush; General Doug -- Major General Doug O'Dell, who is the new federal coordinator for Gulf Coast rebuilding; Danny Wuerffel, member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation; and other private and public sector leaders.

This will be held during National Hurricane Preparedness Week and will highlight the strengthening of the role between faith-based organizations and community groups through disaster preparedness, response and recovery. And this will have a special focus on the Gulf Coast region.

Because we have quite a full day and I'm not going to be able -- I think the next time I would be able to talk to you would be too late, let me just do a preview of the President's commencement speech that's going to be at the Air Force Academy tomorrow.

The commencement will compare and contrast the careers that the Class of 2008 will have compared with that of the World War II generation. More specifically, it will take a look at the differences and similarities in air power and warfare, today versus World War II, both in terms of enemies we face and technology available to fight. It will draw parallels of post-war conditions between Germany and Japan and then today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He will talk about how there is one constant, that freedom has the power to overcome tyranny and transform societies. And the President will express the great confidence and gratitude he has for the Class of 2008 as they take up their mission -- will express his great confidence and gratitude he has for them -- make that more grammatically correct.

I have one sentence from the speech as prepared that I'm going to provide for you now. It is the following -- this is, again, as prepared for the President tomorrow: "America has assumed this obligation before. After World War II we helped Germany and Japan build free societies and strong economies. These efforts took time and patience, and as a result Germany and Japan grew in freedom and prosperity and are now allies of the United States. And we have reaped the benefits in generations of security and peace. Today we must do the same in Afghanistan and Iraq, and by helping these young democracies grow in freedom and prosperity we will once again reap the benefits in generations of security and peace."

That's all I got. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No. I think that's all. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Sorry, I don't, but Carlton will be happy to get them for you.* Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: How's he feeling about being needed? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Again, President Bush isn't on the ticket. So this is a new role for him. The past several cycles, either his dad had been on the ticket or -- and there were the in-between years during the '90s. And then he's been on the ticket the past two times. And so it is just fundamentally different for the President this election cycle. And in many ways it's good to be an observer and a supporter wherever he can. You'll remember that the President and John McCain had a great meeting and event in the Rose Garden back in early March. And as the President said, he will do as much or as little as anyone needs him to do to help elect Republicans.

But at the end of the day, any candidate who's running for office has to stand on their own two feet and they have to chart a course for themselves. Every election is about change -- go back through history and every single one is about how things are going to look in the future. And that's what Senator McCain has set out to do, which is to chart his own course, talk about how he will lead this nation in a time of war and threats from enemies and the challenges we have of keeping competitive in the world as the economy is in a current slowdown -- but looks like hopefully it's come back because of the economic stimulus package, which is another thing the President will talk about today at the Silverado Cable Company.

So when you ask me how he feels, remember, I don't do a lot of psychoanalysis of President Bush. He's glad to be out on the road doing some politicking today. He will do as much as he can across the board for candidates through this cycle, but he also is Commander-in-Chief and has responsibilities -- for example, as you know, we're going to be out of the country for eight days as he goes to Europe to meet with our allies and further strengthen and deepen the relationships we have with his European partners.

I think how he feels about it is a little less important; he's just glad to be out on the road. It's a little bit reminiscent, but it's a very different feeling because you're not on the ticket. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I mean, I think you look -- talk to candidates. It's an exhilarating and exhausting experience. And twice around is plenty. And also you've heard the President say he believes it's harder to be President -- son of a President than it is to be President. He's been involved in this for a long time and you can't wish for something that's not going to happen -- he doesn't wish for a third term. He thinks it's good that we have a two-term limit in the United States. It's good for the country to have that smooth, peaceful transition of power every four or eight years; one where you get new energy and new ideas across the board -- from the President on down, throughout the administration.

Also, in terms of as an observer, this is a man who understands politics very well; he understands what the candidates are going through. And I can just imagine that when you have a chance to sit back and observe it, it's very different than if you are on the ticket yourself and responsible and accountable for trying to win that election in November. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, he is not. As I said before, the President and Senator McCain have had -- have had a long, good relationship over the years. And if you were there for the Rose Garden event, I think one of the things that I tried to remind people of is how hard John McCain campaigned for the President in 2004 to help him win reelection. The President believes it's our turn to try to help him, and we'll do that in whatever way he needs.

But at the end of the day, in November it will be John McCain who wins because he stood on his own two feet and talked about how he would lead the country in the future. It's not about looking back; it's about looking forward. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think there's going to be just a brief appearance on the way back to the airplane. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: In Phoenix. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I did over the weekend, though you may not have seen the comments, so I'll just repeat them here, which is that as you know, our practice has been for fundraisers that the President does, if they're at a venue like a hotel, that they are open to press. The McCain campaign has a practice that's different, and that is that all of their fundraisers, regardless of location, are closed to the press. And so to accommodate the practices, they decided to move it to a private residence today. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Not that I'm aware of. I'd refer you to the McCain campaign for those. But I would remind you that given that it's a free country, no matter where we go there's always a possibility for protests, so I don't think I'd put a lot of stock into that concern. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I believe the last time we were in Utah, in Salt Lake City, we did the same. The President has -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Yes, we did; I was there. (Laughter.) Yes, so, I mean, he meets with them regularly, and thinks that they have a good role to play in America, in terms of helping communities and spreading the word of love. And the President often meets with religious leaders, and I don't think he would -- I don't think the President would ever pass up an opportunity to meet with the President of the Mormon Church. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, certainly we're currently reviewing the report, as you know. I don't believe it's final yet, in terms of final dissemination from them. We remain concerned that Iran continues to defy the international community when it comes to their nuclear program. If you look at what the IAEA said, they are -- that organization remains concerned. And I think that this should further open the eyes of the world to the problems of Iran.

And by failing to cooperate fully and transparently with the IAEA on these matters, we can only conclude it wants to preserve the ability to weaponize; Iran's continued nuclear fuel cycle development reinforces this conclusion. And despite Iranian protests that they have never violated their NPT or their IAEA safeguards obligations in which they cooperate fully with the IAEA, this report apparently demonstrates that Iran has not met its international obligations, and continues to violate the commitments that it committed to. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, as you know, Secretary Rice is leading up a conversation and negotiations with our allies, the P5-plus-1, for possible further sanctions, but I'd refer you to State Department for where they are on that process. I haven't heard -- although she and David Miliband answered questions from the press either last Thursday or Friday, and they talked about the status of it. I'd refer you to that. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No. No, you didn't hear me say the President was going to say that. I said that the -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I said we believe that that stimulus is going to have the desired effect to bounce us out of the slowdown that we were in, and that as the stimulus checks went out, starting the first of May -- late April, first of May -- there was also another component of the economic stimulus package, and that was for businesses to be able to take advantage of some tax breaks so that they could buy equipment and to accelerate the depreciation, as it makes a big difference for a company like the one we're going to visit today, because that means that they can invest, expand, and usually when they're investing and expanding, they're creating more jobs.

So the President will highlight that portion of it today for a couple of reasons: one, to make sure that businesses across the country know that this opportunity is available to them; and two, to highlight how many businesses have taken advantage of it already. That's in addition to the individuals who have gotten stimulus rebate checks. I'll have you check with the Treasury Department -- or the President might have them later -- in terms of how many individuals have now received their checks. As you know, that was going to be a multi-month rollout. But I believe it's pretty high, the number of people who have already gotten it. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think so, but I don't think that these are numbers that are necessarily -- they're not a secret. But I think -- we're trying to get -- I'm trying to get an update, so we make sure that we have something. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Yes, from Sterling, Virginia, and it's a similar message from there. So you'll hear from the President -- talk about that portion of it today.

Okay? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: There's some -- there is a formula that exists. I don't have it off the top of my head, but it's followed whenever we go on trips like this. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: We'll see -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Maybe you should look at your reporting from last year, because -- or in 2006 cycle. We had the exact same conversations over and over again. So I'll try to get it for you right now, but -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I have no idea, Roger. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't know how specific we get in breaking that down, but I'll see what I can get you. Okay? Read more Comment (0), Email this.

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MS. PERINO: Hello. Happy Friday before a three-day weekend.

Just quickly, I wanted to let you know a little bit of something about a product that we weren't able really to showcase as much as we were the other ones that you saw on the South Lawn today regarding free trade. The President this morning discussed on the South Lawn the importance of opening markets for the products made by American workers and farmers. And I thought I would highlight this here: Golf -- I've got a golf ball with me -- still remains enormously popular here in the United States, but the biggest growth market for golf is actually overseas. And approxim