WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2007
Bush Puts Heat On Congress
President Says Congress Is Stalling On Domestic Bills; Addresses Issues With Turkey, Russia
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Play CBS Video Video Bush On U.S.-Turkey Relations "CBS News RAW": President Bush chided Congress for supporting a bill that recognizes the Armenian genocide of 1915 and spoke about the growing tension between Iraq and Turkey.
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Video Bush's Speech Assessed "Only On The Web": Bill Plante discusses President Bush's stance on the terrorist surveillance program and the administration's disapproval of an Armenian genocide resolution bill.
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Video Bush On Iranian Threat "CBS News RAW": President Bush reiterated his administration's stance on Iran, saying its nuclear capabilities remain a serious threat to world peace and Mideast stability.
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President Bush gestures during a press conference conference, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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President Bush listens to a reporters question during a press conference, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
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President Bush: "Congress has little to show for all the time that has gone by." (CBS)
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Fast Facts At A Glance: SCHIP A look at the State Children's Health Insurance Program and the bill vetoed by President Bush.
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Interactive Bush Presidency The president's agenda, plus facts, figures, major events and key personalities.
If Tuesday's handshake between Putin and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad troubles Mr. Bush, he didn't let it show at his news conference.
"I think it's hard to judge how their conversations went from a picture," said President Bush.
Mr. Bush is betting Putin will be on the same page opposing Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions that he was on this summer, adds Axelrod.
"We spent a lot of time talking about the Iranian issue, and we both agree," said President Bush on July 2.
In light of current problems with Russia, CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer noted how Mr. Bush didn't want to say anything about Putin until they talked in private about his recent trip to Iran.
"I think it was very interesting he wouldn't criticize him at all," said Schieffer.
Mr. Bush also urged the Democratic-controlled Congress to drop efforts to pass a House resolution labeling as genocide the World War I-era killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
With all the pressing responsibilities facing the nation, "One thing Congress should not be doing is sorting out the historical record of the Ottoman Empire," he said.
"Congress has little to show for all the time that has gone by" since Democrats gained control in January of both the House and the Senate, Mr. Bush said.
The president also said that Congress needs to act on mortgage relief for homeowners hit by the housing crisis, trade deals that would strengthen allies, legislation expanding U.S. markets and aid to military veterans.
Mr. Bush also said that he opposes Turkey's desire to launch a military offensive against Kurdish rebels in Iraq.
"We are making it very clear to Turkey that we don't think it is in their interest to send troops into Iraq," Mr. Bush said shortly before Turkey's parliament approved a cross-border military offensive against the Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.
"Actually they have troops already stationed in Iraq and they've had troops stationed there for quite a while," he said. "We don't think it's in their interest to send more troops in."
Mr. Bush said he talked about Turkey with Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, and Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, on Wednesday. He also noted that Tariq al-Hashimi, one of Iraq's vice presidents, was in Istanbul expressing that Iraq shares Turkey's concerns about terrorist activities. But Mr. Bush said there's a better way to deal with the issue than having Turkey send additional troops into the country.
"What I'm telling you is that there's a lot of dialogue going on and that's positive," he said.
Mr. Bush used the news conference - his first since Sept. 20 - to prod the Democratic-controlled Congress to approve spending, education and health bills.
It came just a day before the House will try to override his veto of a bill expanding a popular children's health program.
"It's unlikely that veto override will succeed," Mr. Bush said noting that Democratic leaders knew that "when they sent me the bill."
Mr. Bush also defended his decision to attend a ceremony in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol later Wednesday to award Congress' highest civilian honor to the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual head of Tibet's Buddhists.
"One, I admire the Dalai Lama a lot; two, I support religious freedom, he support religious freedom," he said.
The reception the Dalai Lama was getting in the United States infuriated the Chinese government, which reviles the Buddhist leader.
On other subjects, Mr. Bush:
Mr. Bush promised that the conference in Annapolis would be "serious and substantive." He said one reason for holding the conference is to get what he called "Arab buy-in" for a Palestinian state.
"Part of the issue in the past has been that the Arab nations stood on the sidelines," Mr. Bush said. "And when a state was in reach, they weren't a part of the process, encouraging the parties to move forward."
©MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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- Please check your numbers. The Bush appoval is now 32% and not 22%.
Posted by BaghdadsHere at 01:07 AM : Oct 18, 2007
Actually it''''s 24% according to Zogby. Bush couldn''''t hit an approval rating of 32% in his own family.
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Posted by SgtRDS at 10:29 AM : Oct 18, 2007
Hey SgtRDS couldn%u2019t agree with you more. And after looking at Bush%u2019s poll numbers and wondering just who those 24% of Americans are, I discovered another very interesting tidbit of information. A correlation between mental disorders in the U.S, which are estimated at 26.2% in any given year, and Bush%u2019s unbelievably high 24% Zogby/Reuters approval rating. The numbers don%u2019t lie. This must be the secret to Bush%u2019s success. - Reply to this comment
- Please check your numbers. The Bush appoval is now 32% and not 22%.
Posted by BaghdadsHere at 01:07 AM : Oct 18, 2007
Actually it''s 24% according to Zogby. Bush couldn''t hit an approval rating of 32% in his own family. - Reply to this comment
- I''''ll bet you voted for Sir Lies-A-Lot though... Posted by MCVet
Gee, ya think. - Reply to this comment
- never had an affiliation ''''eh kat? Too bad. And no, I''''m sure you voted for Engler. Or worse, the former state boy. And here we are.
Posted by drummer94
Nope, white collar thank you very much. Actually no, I didn''t vote for Engler. Anything else you''d like to blame me for; you lefties are good at that. Poor lefty, just can''t take any responsibility for his pathetic life. Always got to blame someone else. - Reply to this comment
- It depends on the Union, their political affiliation(s), their agenda, their level of corruption, their attention to member issues, etc, etc.Posted by hungry1968
I''ll give you that. In my particular experience, they have sucked. Plus, I live near Detroit, need I say more. - Reply to this comment
- I''''d say you should research things a little better before you start calling other American''''s names...Posted by MCVet
I have first hand experience dealing with unions...THEY SUCK. That''s my opinion and I''m stickin'' to it. - Reply to this comment
- hey katg21, if I take away the nions, look what I get; U suck..Posted by gmanj7
My goodness, how clever you think you are...LAUGHABLE. - Reply to this comment
- Baghdad''s here,
Please check your numbers, the Bush approval rating is now 24%.
I''m wondering what perentage of the public is institutionalized or under some form of clinical care.
red164,
The sequel is never as good as the original. The only hope Bush couldn''t get back to 80% approval if he paraded OBL''s head on a stick down 5th Avenue. - Reply to this comment
- The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life. Theodore Roosevelt
...the man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic-the man who actually does the work, even if roughly and imperfectly, not the man who only talks or writes about how it ought to be done. (1891) Theodore Roosevelt%u2026..
It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things. Theodore Roosevelt
Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big. Theodore Roosevelt
Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind. Theodore Roosevelt
The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything. Theodore Roosevelt
The pacifist is as surely a traitor to his country and to humanity as is the most brutal warmonger. Theodore Roosevelt - Reply to this comment
- It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. Theodore Roosevelt
Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute for it. The function of the mere critic is of very subordinate usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger. (1894) Theodore Roosevelt
To sit home, read one''s favorite paper, and scoff at the misdeeds of the men who do things is easy, but it is markedly ineffective. It is what evil men count upon the good men''s doing. - The Outlook December 21, 1895 Theodore Roosevelt - Reply to this comment
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