Bush Nixes Nukes For Iran

By: Joel Roberts

Mr. Bush said they he wanted to ensure that civil liberties were guarded and that he understands the current debate about the wiretaps.

"I understand the need to make sure people discuss and debate whether or not I have got the authority to do it, but as I told the American people—and I can't tell you how strongly I feel about this—if somebody is talking to al Qaeda inside the United States, we need to know why, and that's what this program is aimed to do," he said.

Mr. Bush said that 9/11 has influenced his strategy in fighting the war on terror.

"I remember my words going to Congress just saying I'm not going to ever forget what took place, and I will use all the power and my authority within the Constitution to protect the American people, but I view this situation we're in as war, and therefore I must protect the American people with the tools available to me," he said.

When asked if there is anything a president cannot do, he replied: "I don't think a president can tort--get--can order torture, for example. I don't think a president can order the assassination of a leader of another country with which we're not at war."

On the new prescription drug benefit program which has confused many seniors, Mr. Bush said there are still glitches being worked out.

"It's a good deal for seniors. When it all settles out, seniors are going to realize that this Congress and this president have worked to modernize Medicare to make work better for them," he said.

Mr. Bush addressed the United States' dependence on foreign oil and hinted that the subject would be a focal point of his State of the Union speech. The president said the nation needs to be more independent from foreign sources and said he was convinced more research would render additional ways to make ethanol.

"I want to see different kinds of cars on our road that don't require (sic) upon crude oil from overseas, but we have got a serious problem, and now is the time to fix it," he said.

When asked whether the United States was losing moral high ground because of incidents like Abu Graib, Mr. Bush said the country was "disgraced."

"That's why it was important for us to investigate, to expose, and to hold people to account so people see there was a consequence for the behavior," he said.

On the humanitarian front, Mr. Bush championed his administration's HIV/AIDS and anti-malaria initiatives in Africa.

"The actions we take in our own country or elsewhere help define America to others, and that's why it's important for us to constantly remind people that are--we have got a wonderful heart and we are a compassionate nation," he said.

Mr. Bush said it was too early to make any predictions on the 2008 presidential race. He declined to speculate on the leading Republican candidates and when Schieffer said that Senator Hillary Clinton appeared to be eyeing the Democratic nomination, Mr. Bush said "she's formidable."

"Two wide open primaries with no sitting vice president running in either primary, so this is--I can't remember a time when it's been this open," he said.

When asked what the worst part of his presidency was, Mr. Bush said it was the climate of bitterness in Washington – something he said was not as much of an issue in Texas. He said that issues like Social Security and Medicare have suffered the most because of partisanship.

"You have got to have Republicans and Democrats sitting at the table to work out how to resolve this now because this problem is getting worse, and I'm going to continue to try to get that done, but that's been the biggest disappointment, is the tone in Washington," he said.

Mr. Bush said that he has begun thinking about life after his presidency and said he plans to leave behind a think-tank, "a place for people to talk about freedom and liberty."