Transcript: President Bush, Part 1

Couric's Interview With President Bush

(CBS) 
COURIC: When it comes to sharing information, Mr. President, Tom Kean continues to give the administration a D. I know that one of the recommendations was to streamline all these agencies so they could share information more because that was a major criticism following 9/11, as you mentioned, that information wasn't being shared. There were all these turf battles. Some have said that the Bush administration has added to the bureaucracy rather than streamlined it.

BUSH: (LAUGHTER) Yeah. That's what happens. You get a lot of critics around.

COURIC: But – but what's your response to that?

BUSH: My response is, is that we're sharing information much better than prior to September the 11th. We've got a – a counterterrorism center where people from different agencies come and meet. And, you know, again, I repeat to you: We – we're working to improve as best as we possibly can. But this system of ours has improved dramatically since September the 11th.

COURIC: When you look back on the last five years, President Bush, is there anything that you wish you had done differently?

BUSH: Yeah. I mean, I wish, for example, Abu Ghraib didn't happen. That was a stain on our nation's character, and it sent a signal about who we're not to a lot of people around the world. I probably could have – watched my language a little better, you know?

COURIC: In – in terms of saying–

BUSH: "Bring it on," for example.

COURIC: Yeah.

BUSH: I might – I – sometimes I try to explain myself in – in – in
plain terms. And sometimes the – the terms are too plain.

COURIC: You can take the boy out of Crawford, but you can't take Crawford out of the boy?

BUSH: One way to look at it. (LAUGHTER) But – I'm – I'm mindful that my words matter. And – you know, I'm – I've got a lot of constituents out there. We've got – our own people. And my job is to explain to the American people why I make decisions and how I make them.

We've got an enemy that's watching very carefully what I say and what we do. We've got– people in young democracies that are wondering whether or not the United States will keep its word. And we've got soldiers on– on the battlefield. And – I try to do my best, telling people what's on my mind and – and – why I'm optimistic we're going to succeed. And – the president –you know, all you can do is – is tell people what you're thinking.

COURIC: I know that Iraq – you can – you consider Iraq the – the central front in the war against terrorism. And I'm wondering, Mr. President, if sometimes in your private moments you feel incredible frustration…that this war is not going better. And frustration that public support for it has eroded pretty significantly in recent months.

BUSH: Well, first of all, I do think Iraq is a central front in the war on terror and so does Osama bin Laden. That's what he says. So does the number two man in al-Qaeda, Zawahiri, who have clearly said that their objective is to run us out of Iraq before the job is done so they can have safe haven from which to launch attacks against moderate – moderate Muslim nations.

I'm concerned that these – radical extremists would use oil as an economic weapon against us. And so both of us see this as a central front. And that's why it's gonna be important for us to succeed. And we will succeed if we don't leave too early.

Now, there's been some good moments and some bad moments in Iraq. And there's been some highlights. Twelve million people – nearly 12 voting for a government under a modern constitution. The unity government of Maliki, Prime Minister Maliki is– is dedicated to– succeeding to defeating the extremists. And our job is to help them do so. What was the other part of your question?

[dgn2]

Katie Couric was scowling at the president at times -- did anyone notice THAT?

[mjmurph1]

Weak interview. Bush lied us into Iraq and the media thumped the drum. Now the media owes it to all of America to hold this administration accountable for depleted monies, lives and resources that we need to fight those who actually attacked us.

[ssgatorr]

Katie,

You are doing a wonderful job reporting the news -as bad as it is some of the time.

As far as your closing to the viewers - just a big sincere smile as you always have, along with a closing comment.

It is very difficult to report the awful news and have a great smile.

Is this an interview or just a well-publicized occasion for the president to issue his views unchallenged by any real interrogation of the record? Her gushing opening about "really really" appreciating him "talking to us" tips her hand right off. We need journalists with backbone who will challenge the politicians who want to serve up this kind of pap to the public on TV.

[baddaddy9]

Katie was totally weak - she lobbed lame, softball questions at Bush, and then helped him formulate the answers. Even worse, she didn't follow up when Bush dodged the questions. She's falling down on the job right out of the gate! She's doesn't have what it takes to ask the tough questions and get the answers that we need from our public officials. What a sad joke. All this hype and she's nothing but a blonde Oprah. Soon she'll be asking Kofi Anan and *** Cheney for dating and diet tips! She should go back to the Today Show and leave real journalism to real journalists. She's an embarassment and exactly the wrong thing for the country at this critical juncture in our history. BOO!

[tucker1no]

Wow, where do I start. First off wardrobe - BAD, Really bad. A bright blue mock turtleneck under a dark blazer combined with the skyline behind her.
Second - what was with walking down the hall ways as though Katie just happened to be at the White House and ran into the president and said hey do have a moment to talk about world affairs. After 4 or 5 shots of different hall ways they finally sit down. This is about the state of the United States of America. This is not a casual chit chat. Go in there like hell on wheels and get a good interview. Call him out on questions he can't or won't answer. He stumbled on just about every answer he gave.
Lastly - Katie you need to figure out what to do with your hands and don't cross your arms when you are meeting and introducing the president or anyone else for that matter. You looked very afraid and defensive.

BETTER LUCK ON YOUR NEXT INTERVIEW - I will stick around for one more.

[squance-2009]

I thought that Couric was opinionated on NBC, but she has only gotten worse. And now, CBS has tried to slant this dialog by inserting EVERY um, pause, etc to try and show the President in a bad light. Never have I seen this done before on CBS or any other network. It's the NEWS dummy! We don't need more opinions, just the news as it happens.

Rest assured, you have lost another long time viewer for good.

[gardnerjohn4]

The interview with George W. Bush by Katie Couric, for me, wasn't hard hitting enough. It was scripted.If I wanted to watch puppet theatre I should have TiVOed sesame street and watched that instead.

When the president doesn't answer a question reporters need to hold him accountable.

I think we need to re-examine that this administration has thrown away our civil liberties all in the name of the war on Terror; to spend an hour of television trying to convince people that more has to done is just plain wrong. Our first amendment right to assemble peacefully is being violated by hidden cameras in public places. The patriot act is making it easier to crack down on "suspected terrorist" but what if it is being used to identify peaceful protestors like the NYPD did during Critical Mass in New York. The Patriot Act is a way in which law enforcement can now violate Fourth amendment law. Our constitution is being rewritten without a good honest debate in the media. Instead, we are given tours of facilities that costs the taxpayers billions and for what? It might be more effective to spend billions from the War on Terror on cancer cures or more measures to combat drunk driving or....maybe actually help the victims of Katrina.

Could someone please change the public dialog to when we can impeach this guy?