Bush on immigration

QUESTION: Mr. President, since early in your first term you've talked about immigration reform. But yet people in your own party on the hill seem opposed to this idea and you've got an opposition, even on the other side. Do you plan to expend some of your political capital this time to see this through?

BUSH: Yes, I intend to work with members of Congress to get something done. I think this is an issue that will make it easier for us to enforce our borders.

And I believe it's an issue that will show the -- if when we get it right, the compassion and heart of the American people. And no question, it's a tough issue, just like some of the other issues we're taking on. But my job is to confront tough issues. And to ask Congress to work together to confront tough issues.

Now, let me talk about the immigration issue.

First we want our Border Patrol agents chasing crooks and thieves and drug runners and terrorists, not good--hearted people who are coming here to work. And, therefore, it makes sense to allow the good-hearted people who are coming here to do jobs that Americans won't do a legal way to do so. And providing that legal avenue, it takes the pressure off the border.

Now, we need to make sure the border is modern and we need to upgrade our Border Patrol. But if we expect the Border Patrol to be able to enforce a long border, particularly in the south -- and the north, for that matter -- we ought to have a system that recognizes people are coming here to do jobs that Americans will not do. And there ought to be a legal way for them to do so.

To me that, is -- and not only that, but once the person is here, if he or she feels like he or she needs to go back to see their family, to the country of origin, they should be able to do so within a prescribed -- the card and the permit would last for a prescribed period of time.

It's a compassionate way to treat people who come to our country. It recognizes the reality of the world in which we live. There are some jobs in America that Americans won't do and others are willing to do.

Now, one of the important aspects of my vision is that this is not automatic citizenship. The American people must understand that, that if somebody who is here working wants to be a citizen, they can get in line like those who have been here legally and have been working to become a citizenship in a legal manner.

And this is a very important issue, and I look forward to working with members of Congress. I fully understand the politics of immigration reform. I mean, I was the governor of Texas, right there on the front lines of border politics. You know, I know what it means to have mothers and fathers come to my state and across the border of my state to work.

Family values do not stop at the Rio Grande river, is what I used to tell the people of my state.

People are coming to put food on the table. They're doing jobs Americans will not do. And to me, it makes sense for us to recognize that reality and to help those who are needing to enforce our borders, legalize the process of people doing jobs Americans won't do, take the pressure off of employers so they're not having to rely upon false IDs, cut out the coyotes who are the smugglers of these people, putting them in the back of tractor-trailers in the middle of August in Texas, allowing people to suffocate in the back of the truck, stop the process of people feeling like they got to walk miles across desert in Arizona and Texas in order just to feed their family, and they find them dead out there, you know. I mean, this is a system that can be much better.

And I'm passionate on it because the nature of this country is one that is good-hearted and compassionate. Our people are compassionate.

The system we have today is not a compassionate system. It's not working. And as a result, the country is less secure than it could be with a rational system.

OPINION

What are these jobs people won't do? I really want to know. Because I think right now, people will take just any job they can get to get money so they can survive. It gets tougher each year to pay for everything necessary and people get really irritable about immigration. People do come into our country and take jobs away from American citizens. Now, the only way I can honor what Bush is saying is if I find out for certain that there are actually citizens in America that won't do these jobs that immigrants are taking. On the flipside, in a roundabout way is Bush saying the immigrants are becoming America's slaves? America's source for getting the dirty work done? I don't think he can come clean on the situation with immigration cause he has a Latino in his cabinet and he knows the immigration vote pushed him ahead in '04 or contributed.

American Duties 6 of 11

Bush on federal budget

QUESTION: You talked earlier about the importance of spending discipline in the federal budget. But you went your entire first term without vetoing a single spending bill, even know you had a lot of tough talk on that issue in your first term.

And I'm wondering this time around, what are you going to do to convince Congress you really are serious about cutting federal spending? Will you veto spending bills this time?

BUSH: Here's what happened. I submitted a budget and Congress hit our number, which is a tribute to Senator Hastert and -- I mean, Senator Frist and Speaker Hastert's leadership.

In other words, we worked together, we came up with a budget like we're doing now, we went through the process of asking our agencies,

Can you live with this, and if you don't like it counterpropose?

And then we came up with a budget that we thought was necessary and we took it to the leadership and they accepted the budget. And they passed bills that met our budget targets.

So how can you veto a series appropriations bills if the Congress has done what you've asked them to do?

Now, I think the president ought to have the line item veto because within the appropriations bills there may be differences of opinion on how the money is being spent.

But overall, they have done a superb job of working with the White House to meet the budget numbers we've submitted.

And so the appropriations bill I just signed was one that conformed with the budget agreement we had with the United States Congress.

And I really do appreciate the leadership, not only Speaker Hastert and Senator Frist, but also the Budget Committee chairman. I talked to Senator Gregg this morning, as a matter of fact. He'll be heading the Budget Committee in the United States Senate.

And we're working very closely with members of Congress as we develop the budget.

And it's going to be a tough budget, no question about it. And it's a budget that I think will send the right signal to the financial markets and to those concerned about our short-term deficits.

As well, we have to deal with the long-term deficit issues. That's the issue that John Roberts talked about, which is the unfunded liabilities when it comes to some of the entitlement programs.

OPINION

I always found it interesting how on graphs it would show Clinton's two terms having such a large increase in money and before it had been decreasing. And following Clinton's presidency, Bush came in and created a deficit. For that, he lost his title of a compassionate conservative because he spent money fiercely. I don't think our country can handle his crusade for all countries to have freedom because it costs so much. We need to pace ourselves.

American Duties 5 of 11

Bush on North Korea

QUESTION: You spent a good deal of time before the Iraq war, some in this room, explaining to us why the combination of Saddam Hussein as a dictator and the weapons that you thought at the time he had assembled made a case for regime change. In the case of North Korea and Iran, you have not declared yourself on the question of regime change. Though North Korea, your intelligence agencies believe, may have added six or seven nuclear weapons in the past two years, and Iran seems to have a covert program, or at least your government believes it does.

Where do you stand on regime change? And how would it be accomplished?

BUSH: I'll tell you where I stand. I stand on continuing the six-party talks with North Korea to convince Kim Jong Il to give up his weapons systems.

As you might remember, our country has tried a strategy of bilateral relationships in hopes that we can convince Kim Jong Il. It didn't work.

As a matter of fact, when we thought we had, in good faith, agreed to an agreement -- agreed to a plan that would work, he himself was enriching uranium or saw to it that the uranium was enriched. In other words, he broke the agreement.

I think it's an important lesson for this administration to learn. And that the best way to convince him to disarm is to get others to weigh in as well. With the Iranian situation as well, we're relying upon others, because we've sanctioned ourselves out of influence with Iran, to send a message that we expect them to -- in other words, we don't have much leverage with the Iranians right now and we expect them to listen to those voices who are a part of the universal acclaim.

I believe that -- and so therefore we're dealing -- this is how we're dealing with the issue. And it's much different between the situation in Iraq and Iran because of this. Diplomacy had failed for 13 years in Iraq. As you might remember -- I'm sure you do -- all the U.N. resolutions that were passed out of the United Nations, totally ignored by Saddam Hussein.

And so diplomacy must be the first choice, always the first choice of an administration trying to solve an issue of, in this case, nuclear armament. And we'll continue to press on diplomacy.

Now, in terms of, you know, my vision for the future of the world, I believe everybody ought to be free. I believe the world is more peaceful as liberty takes hold. Free societies don't fight each other.

And so we'll work to continue to send a message to reformers around the world that America stands strong in our belief that freedom is universal and that we hope at some point in time everybody is free.

OPINION

I have watched and read about Bush and the one thing about him is that he's focused on the one thing he wants. He wants everyone to be free. He'll stand up for it and he will do anything so that people who being hurt or who are suffering in other countries can be freed. He may free them unconventionally by preemptively striking, but in some cases, he feels that is what it takes. He is right about one thing. And if you look at the typed lines, you sort of get the feeling that he is shaky on the situation with Iran. He doesn't want it to be another Iraq. America failed to employ diplomacy to the fullest when dealing with Iraq. That is why he also wants to stick to a six-party strategy in talks with North Korea. Diplomacy is a key for freedom. The fact that you won't attack and will just talk things out creates a comfort zone. I don't think attacking North Korea would be good because it hurts a much needed comfort zone in an area where China could take over and turn against us. Should we live in fear? No. But we shouldn't doubt the possibility.

Arkansas Gets Rid of Law

Arkansas just got rid of a law that used to prevent gay couples from fostering children. The law was nullified due to the fact that psychological problems or dangers to health, welfare, and safety of the child simply do not exist. The policy was challenged by none other than the ACLU in 1999. This milestone for gay people shows that they two can take care of raise kids as a couple.

OPINION

I do not have a problem at all. Now, I know somebody is out there who is thinking parents should be preserved as a thing between a man and a woman. But with so many divorces, that argument is weakened because often the bond becomes weak after time and the people become weak and they leave each other. Thinking about this, you have to think about what's best for the child. If you think about the fact that this gay or lesbian couple has a passionate love for each other, than you have to expect that love to transfer to the raising of a child. With that, I see no reason to not allow gay or lesbian couples to raise children.