By Trent Duffy
THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
(Crawford, Texas)
______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release July 28, 2004




PRESS GAGGLE
BY
TRENT DUFFY

Crawford Middle School
Crawford, Texas

2:58 P.M. CDT


MR. DUFFY: Good afternoon. The President had his regular intelligence
briefings this morning, and was then briefed on the progress being made on the
recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. President Bush's most solemn priority
is the safety and security of the American people, which is why he created this
task force to analyze the commission's recommendations. President Bush has made
it clear that he will waste no time in acting on those efforts that will make
America safer. The conference on the 9/11 Commission recommendations lasted
approximately 30 minutes, and the entire task force was represented, including
the Vice President.

The President then taped some new ads for his reelection campaign, and for
more details on that, I would refer you to the campaign headquarters in
Arlington.

Following that, he went mountain biking for roughly one hour and 19
minutes, according to the President, and the ride was for about 18 miles.

I have one international call to read out to you. The President today
spoke with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia for roughly 10 minutes. The
President thanked the Crown Prince for meeting with Secretary Powell today, and
the two of them discussed the situation in Iraq and Saudi Arabia's efforts to
fight terrorism on its own soil.

With that, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Q Anything new, Trent, on the White House decision on extending the life
of the 9/11 Commission? We haven't really gotten a straight answer on that.

MR. DUFFY: The President's main focus right now is on analyzing the
recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and taking those steps that will make
America safer. And that's where his focus is. The task force continues to
deliberate, not only the recommendations, but this latest proposal. And I would
refer you to the campaign, the Bush-Cheney campaign for any reaction to Senator
Kerry's potential motivations for putting that proposal out there.

Q Is there any progress on those recommendations? And is there a
concern that, perhaps, those who are saying we should move quickly, that perhaps
it's moving too fast?

MR. DUFFY: There is progress being made on the recommendations. This was
the second conference that the President held with Secretary Card. There are
recommendations that have the potential to be put into place quickly. And the
President, as I said, would waste no time in doing that. But these are very big
issues. And the task force's job is to analyze them, to deliberate them
carefully, so that we seize the opportunity to make those kind of changes, both
in the short and long-term, to make America safer and to make sure that the
President has the best intelligence that the community can offer.

Q Can you describe what that progress is, other than the second meeting?

MR. DUFFY: No, just that there are further deliberations and they are
moving very quickly.

Q Has the President been watching the Democratic Convention? And will
he watch Edwards tonight and Kerry tomorrow night?

MR. DUFFY: Well, obviously, the President has a great stake in this
election, a personal stake, and he has been keeping an eye on it. He has been
monitoring closely, as you might imagine, the events in Boston. But he knows
that the American League East won't be decided until September. (Laughter.)

Q Trent, in the phone call with the Crown Prince, did they touch on the
possibility of sending Muslim troops to Iraq?

MR. DUFFY: I just have what I read out to you, Olivier.

Q Claire told us over the weekend that the President brought down the
9/11 report -- has he finished reading it?

MR. DUFFY: He's got it with him. He has been reading it as part of the
deliberations with the task force. He is continuing to consult it.

Q You said he's "monitoring closely." Can you say whether he's actually
watched any of the convention on TV?

MR. DUFFY: He has watched some of it from time to time.

Q Trent, is it still likely that we could have a decision on some of the
9/11 recommendations within days?

MR. DUFFY: I think that is accurate for some of the recommendations. The
commission is going through some very serious deliberations on these very
fundamental questions. We have an historic opportunity to improve and make
changes to our intelligence capabilities as we fight this war on terror, and
that's why they're proceeding at an appropriate pace.

We want to move quickly, but we want to get it done right, and that's why
he has his top advisors going through all these recommendations.

Q And how is this coordinating with the deliberations over naming a
permanent CIA Director?

MR. DUFFY: Well, that's obviously part of it. As you know, we don't
speculate on timing or other personnel decisions. But the President has great
confidence in Director McLaughlin. He is serving the American people and the
intelligence community and the President very capably, and that will be part of
the consideration as we move forward.

Q What can you say about the violence today in Iraq? It was a really
bad day, the police recruit --

MR. DUFFY: Yes, this attack on the Iraqi people is a terrible tragedy and
the U.S. condemns this attack in the strongest terms. Our thoughts and prayers
are with the families of the victims. But this underscores why the Iraqi
people, with the help of the world, must and will prevail over terrorism in
Iraq. Despite this violence, it's clear that the Iraqi people are seizing this
historic opportunity to create a more peaceful, prosperous and democratic
society. The new Iraqi army and police force are stepping up and providing for
their own security. NATO and the international community are extending aid.
And the reason there is such a united effort to prevail in Iraq is because the
world recognizes that a free and peaceful Iraq will make the world a safer and
better place.

Yes, James.

Q Trent, can you tell us what the state of the White House thinking is
on the possible creation of a National Intelligence Director, or what kind of
obstacles there might be to the creation of such a post?

MR. DUFFY: I don't have anything further on the specific recommendations
of the 9/11 Commission. Obviously, that's a high profile one and it's getting a
lot of consideration and thought by the President's task force, as well it
should be.

Q And on a different subject, Iyad Allawi, in Lebanon the other day,
said that Iraq will not be establishing normalized relations with Israel until
all the other Arab nations do so. Is that something that the United States
government approves of?

MR. DUFFY: I don't have anything for you on that, James. I'd refer you to
the State Department for any immediate comment. I suspect, generally, that it's
up to Iraq to decide what kinds of foreign relations it wants to have with other
countries.

Jeff.

Q Trent, when do you expect to release your new budget deficit numbers?
The congressional numbers suggest that the deficit could be $420 billion, which
Gene Sperling says is a new record for fiscal mismanagement and deficit
spending.

MR. DUFFY: Well, let's remember what caused the deficit. The economy and
the recession took a great toll on federal revenues. Obviously, the President's
response to that recession was an aggressive economic program based on tax
relief. And then the terrorists hit us, and that required some appropriate
spending increases, not only to fight the global war on terror, but to protect
the homeland.

And those three factors combined have created the deficit. It is still
relatively small, given where we are as far as its relation to the economy,
which is the appropriate measure. The administration is working on its
mid-session budget review. We want to make sure we have the most accurate data.
One thing I can say is that the economy, that's created 1.5 million jobs since
August, is having an effect on the Treasury, and we would expect that that will
show itself in the new budget projections.

But the President is on track to cut the deficit in half over the next five
years through a combination of continued economic growth, as well as serious
spending restraint.

Q Trent, when do you expect to release those numbers?

MR. DUFFY: You can talk with OMB for an exact date. I know they're going
through the final preparations now.

Q Trent, there are some who say the numbers have been delayed in their
release -- I guess they were due on the 15th -- so as not to give the Democrats
any more fodder during their convention.

MR. DUFFY: I think the Democrats have shown that they have lots of fodder
for their convention.

Q What does the President make of what he saw at the Democratic
Convention?

MR. DUFFY: I'd just leave it where I did, Scott. He's watching it. He's
got an obvious interest in this election. He's said many times that he's going
to be campaigning aggressively, and he looks forward to a good campaign.

Q A little bit every day?

MR. DUFFY: I'll just leave it at what I said.

Q Can I ask you, too, about Michael Moore, what the President knows and
what he thinks about the film tonight?

MR. DUFFY: I don't have anything on that.

Q How long did the ad taping go on for today?

MR. DUFFY: You can contact the campaign for those types of details. I
think -- I think, generally --

Q More than --

MR. DUFFY: Well, I'd have to get that for you, James. I just -- anything
further?

Yes, Alicia.

Q Will there be a still photo release of the President's videoconference
with the task force today?

MR. DUFFY: I don't have anything on that, but I can ask.

Q Do you know if the President is even aware of the fact that this movie
is going to be shown in Crawford tonight?

MR. DUFFY: I don't have anything for you on that, Maura.

Okay, thank you.

END 3:06 P.M. CDT