Interview With President Bush

Nearing his 100th day as president, President Bush spoke with CBS News' The Early Show Co-Anchor Jane Clayson about his politics and policies, including issues from the campaign trail such as the environment and education.

BUSH: Yes.

CLAYSON: And -- and not much time to be judged on, really.

BUSH: That's probably true. But I think you can say, like I do, that we've laid the groundwork for X or Y, we've laid the groundwork for tax relief, we've laid the groundwork for a good education plan, we've laid the groundwork for faith-based initiatives that will help change people's lives.

So I can understand why people look at the first hundred days but hope that they would say this is an administration that's doing in office what he said he would do on the campaign trail, an administration that's not only taking our domestic responsibility seriously but spending a lot of time in an international arena as well trying to make the world more peaceful.

BUSH: I've been changing the tone in Washington, and that's very important because Washington can be a very acrimonious and bitter place where people are here for -- to further their own political agendas as opposed to doing what's right for the people, and I would suspect that some might say that the fact that we've got two significant tax relief bills out of -- out of the House and the Senate that will be reconciled shortly is a pretty good accomplishment, particularly since most people didn't think there would be any tax relief during the course of the campaign.

CLAYSON: I know you don't listen to the polls, read the polls, pay attention to the polls, but there's good news in them for you. High marks.

BUSH: Right.

CLAYSON: High marks so far.

BUSH: Well, I appreciate that, I guess.

CLAYSON: People think that you're doing a good job as president, but it seems they also perceive that some of your policies maybe -- maybe favor the wealthy.

BUSH: Uh-huh.

CLAYSON: Does it surprise you that some see you as more of a conservative in office given that you were a moderate on the campaign?

BUSH: I think it surprises me that people didn't realize I was going to be a conservative president, a compassionate conservative president I might add, because I campaigned on a conservative agenda. Remember, I was the person that laid out a tax relief plan that said iyou pay taxes, you're going to get tax relief. As opposed to a plan that said only some would get tax relief, I said if you pay taxes, poor and rich alike, you should get tax relief. And I haven't changed what I'm for. You know, perceptions are what they are and I -- I'm just going to continue doing what I think is right.

CLAYSON: In your heart, more of a true conservative or more of a moderate?

BUSH: Oh, I'd say I'm a compassionate conservative. I'm a person who believes that a conservative philosophy will yield compassionate results, and I'll give you one example. I think it is -- I think it is conservative to cut taxes. It's compassionate to trust people with their own money. It is -- the government can only do so much in life, and once the government met priorities, I think we ought to let people keep their own money. I would rather them spend their money than the government above a certain level. To me, that's compassionate and that's also conservative.

CLAYSON: Let me ask you for a moment about China.

BUSH: Sure.

CLAYSON: Since it's in the news. Particularly with this robust arms sale to Taiwan, do you foresee that sale increasing tensions between China and Taiwan, between China and the United States?

BUSH: No, I don't. I think that the Chinese are beginning to learn what my administration meant when I said on the campaign trail that we'd be strategic competitors. We -- we would be competitors, but that we would find areas on which we could agree. The marketplace is where we can find agreement through trade, but we're going to compete, there's going to be some areas where we don't agree. One such area is the extent to which the United States upholds its obligations under Taiwan relations law, and as you know, I've upheld our obligations in a very serious fashion, providing equipment for Taiwan so she can defend herself. I -- I -- and the Chinese must understand that I'm a person who does in office what I say I -- I will do. That doesn't necessarily mean we can't have good relations. I think it's in our best advantage or both nations' advantages to work together in areas where we can find agreement. I -- I'm not going to allow harsh rhetoric to--to create an environment where we can't find areas of agreement. I -- we had an incident, as you know, over an airplane. I was displeased by the fact that 24 of our troops were held on a -- in a Navy base for -- for 11 days.

CLAYSON: Did that affect your decision to sell?

BUSH: No, it did not at all. I appreciate you asking that question. I would have made that decision based upon the Taiwan relations regardless of what had taken place in the past and -- but having said that, I believe that both nations worked closely -- or worked -- not closely -- worked hard to make sure that an accident didn't turn into an incident which would have turned out to have strained relations betwee our -- our two countries.

CLAYSON: May I ask you about the environment?

BUSH: Sure.

CLAYSON: I want to get a lot in today.

BUSH: Good.

CLAYSON: about your so-called reversal –

BUSH: Yes.

CLAYSON: -- on some issues --

BUSH: Uh-huh.

CLAYSON: -- regarding the environment. Arsenic in drinking water, carbon dioxide emissions. Is there a particular problem with the environment and your administration's stand on the environment?

BUSH: Well, no. I think there's a -- the only thing that could be is a perception about whether or not my administration cares about the environment, and we -- we deeply care about the environment and we have taken steps necessary to make that clear, such as we're going to reduce the amount of arsenic in drinking water. That's going to happen. It's been a -- it's been a little bit in place since 1948, and mine is an administration that'll actually effect that change. We've got wetland protection regulations that we -- that we've proposed, diesel fuel regulations that are strong. I'm going to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Act to help states and localities conserve land. We're going to protect the national parks. I have made it clear we're going to do something on sulfur -- sulfur oxide, nitrous -- nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide, and mercury, and we're going to -- we've got work to do with this greenhouse gas, this CO2, but we're going to do so in a way that brings new technologies into play and in a way that won't affect the job creation in America.

CLAYSON: What about the perception that there is a flip-flop on some of these issues, especially among suburban women and independent voters?

BUSH: Well, I think the perception will be changed when the -- when those voters hear me lay out the facts exactly what we have done and what we'll continue to do. I mean, the facts say something completely different than maybe some people or, you know, some newspapers are saying, and we're laying out a string of initiatives that will make the -- the environmental -- the environment more clean.

And I think one issue that's got some people concerned is whether or not we ought to be drilling for more oil and gas in America, and the answer is, if you want energy, we should be.

CLAYSON: Even in Florida where your brother is governor?

BUSH: Oh, I don't think off the coast of -- down the Keys in that area, I think you're going to find that we won't be drilling down there, nor off the coast of California. But I think we ought to be drilling in a place like Alaska, and I know we can do so in an environmentally friendly way, that the technology is such that we'll be able to find oil -- natural gas reserves in this case, bring them to market, which will help California, for example. When they build these new power plants in California to meet the enrgy supply deficiencies, they're going to need natural gas to power the plants, and we can do -- but my point to America is, is that we've got the technologies now available to be so much more environmentally sensitive than we did in the past.

CLAYSON: Abortion. In the campaign, you pledged to promote a culture of life.

BUSH: Uh-huh.

CLAYSON: And yet last week, your chief-of-staff Andy Card said that -- that while eliminating abortion is a moral priority, it is not a policy priority. Why not?

BUSH: Well, I think the policy priorities would be policies that could actually pass the Congress, such as banning partial-birth abortion, for example. That's a policy priority. In the meantime, first of all, I think it is unrealistic to assume that America is going to ban abortions at this point in our history. Because there needs to be a culture of life, people got to understand the preciousness of life before the politics change, and so while I'll be signing bills--I hope I'm signing bills such as banning partial-birth abortion--we also got to be a realistic administration, and I think that's what the chief-of-staff was saying.

CLAYSON: Is abortion going to be a litmus test for a Supreme Court opening?

BUSH: No, there's no litmus test except for whether or not the person would -- would strictly interpret the Constitution. That's -- that's the litmus test, the judicial temperament and the judicial record as to whether or not the person will strictly interpret the Constitution or not is the -- is the criterion for selecting a judge.

CLAYSON: Pro-choice judge on the Supreme Court?

BUSH: Well, there's no litmus test, as I said; just whether or not the person will strictly interpret the Constitution.

CLAYSON: Education. This is your issue.

BUSH: Well, it's not just my issue, Jane; it's the issue of a lot of Republicans and a lot of Democrats here in Washington.

CLAYSON: A lot of Democrats are talking about the money that you're going to spend on standardized tests, that you're not spending enough.

BUSH: That's always the argument from a lot of people in Washington. You're never spending enough, they yell.

CLAYSON: Well, what are you going to do about that?

BUSH: Well, I think I'm spending just right. I mean, how do I convince somebody -- there's some people you'll never convince you're not spending enough money. There are some people that would rather increase the size and scope of the federal government in dramatic fashion as opposed to increasing the size and scope of the federal government in a focused fashion, in a realistic and reasonable common-sense fashion, and then reserving enough money to have tax relief for the people who work in America. And I – I -- I say to people it's important to spend more money on education, and we do. The biggest percentage of any depatment in my budget goes to education. It's a significant increase in spending. Not as much as some people who want to -- to grow the federal government want to do. But it's more than just spending money, and most people who understand education know that. We got to have structural reform, and it starts with good accountability, local control of schools, and providing options, if schools fail, to parents.

CLAYSON: And to the people who say that those standardized tests are bad because teachers teach for the test --

BUSH: Yes.

CLAYSON: -- not for education long-term.

BUSH: Sure. I've heard that ever since I've been in public life. For example, let me just talk about a literacy test. If you teach somebody to read, they pass the test, and I -- I just refuse to use -- allow that excuse as a way to undermine accountability because we've got to ask the question, what do you know? And if you don't ask that question to children, there's going to be -- about children, children are going to be moved through our system. And we're not going to let that happen, as far as I'm concerned. Every child matters, every child counts, and the idea of having public school systems that just simply give up on children early because they refuse to hold people accountable is not acceptable as far as I'm concerned.

CLAYSON: We're getting to wrap here and I want to get a couple more things in about you being president.

For your critics who suggest that you are not engaged as -- as president, that you're not in the day-to-day grind of policymaking, that you're a delegator, that you're a CEO, that you're the first MBA in the White House, what -- what do you say to them? Are -- are you really running things?

BUSH: Of course. I'd say that is -- they must not understand the nature of the job. Absolutely. I have -- I have assembled a great staff, I delegate, I align authority and responsibility, but I set the goals for the administration, I hold people accountable for achieving those goals. We built a great team. This job is bigger than one person. This is not a one-person job --

CLAYSON: And when you have--

BUSH: -- this is a job of a team.

CLAYSON: And when you have such strong people, how much of it is them and how much of it is you?

BUSH: It's all us. See, that's the Washington mentality where it's either when -- him or somebody else. I view it as us. I view it as a team of people, dedicated Americans, working together to achieve what's best for America. But that team requires a leader, and I'm honored to be the leader.

CLAYSON: The best part of being president?

BUSH: You know, the best part of being president is traveling the country like I have done and seeing the hundreds of Americans who love their country come out and wave and say hello to the president, because it reminds me that America -- its gret strength is our people, and to interface and interact with the people as their president is the best part of being the president.

CLAYSON: OK.

BUSH: Thanks.

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