For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 13, 2005
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
James S. Brady Briefing Room
12:44 P.M. EDT
MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon, everybody. The President had a good
meeting with his Cabinet earlier this morning. This was the 30th Cabinet
meeting of his administration.
As you heard, one of the key focus areas of the Cabinet meeting today was
on the budget update that our Office of Management and Budget Director Josh
Bolten provided you all a short time ago. We are well on our way to cut
the deficit in half by 2009. The deficit is now $94 billion less than what
the February forecast was. The President's tax cuts and pro-growth
economic policies are fueling growth and job creation. We've seen 3.7 --
more than 3.7 million jobs created over the past 25 months. The
unemployment rate is down to 5 percent. The economic growth that is fueled
by the President's tax cuts are leading to significant increases in
revenues, as Josh pointed out.
We have two key priorities for keeping the deficit on track to cut the
deficit -- two key priorities for keeping us on track to cut the deficit in
half -- that is continuing to act on pro-growth economic policies and
making sure that we exercise spending restraint. We appreciate
congressional efforts on keeping us in line to cut the deficit in half by
showing responsible spending restraint.
The President also talked about the importance of passing a comprehensive
energy bill in the discussion with his Cabinet this morning. That's a key
part of continuing to act on pro-growth economic policies.
The President updated the Cabinet on the successful G8 summit that occurred
last week in Gleneagles, Scotland. He also talked about the recent attacks
in London and our strategy for prevailing in the war on terrorism and
defeating the ideology that the terrorists espouse.
Secretary Rumsfeld provided an update to the Cabinet on the progress and
challenges we're facing in Afghanistan and Iraq, both. Secretary Chertoff
provided an update on the department review -- departmental review that he
has undertaken. He's going to be talking about that more here shortly. He
has worked to make sure that the Department of Homeland Security is
organized in a way that we are accomplishing our mission. And you will
hear more from him here at 1:00 p.m. today, I believe.
Secretary Bodman provided an update on the congressional efforts to get
comprehensive energy legislation passed. We are long overdue for passing
comprehensive energy legislation, and we appreciate the efforts by the
members of the conference committee to move forward and get this to the
President's desk by the summer recess.
The President had a very good discussion yesterday with bipartisan leaders
who are working on this effort, and we hope that they can get that
legislation to him before they recess in August. Secretary Leavitt also
provided an update to the Cabinet on our educational campaign and outreach
to seniors as we move forward to implement the prescription drug benefit
that they will now be receiving. That effort is underway. We are having
good discussions throughout the country. And he provided a good update to
members of the Cabinet on that.
And then as you heard, Josh provided the update that he gave you all a
short time ago.
And with that, I'm glad to go to your questions.
Q Scott, some White House advisors expressed surprise that the President
didn't -- did not give a warm endorsement to Karl Rove when he was asked
about him at the Cabinet meeting. They had expected that he would speak
up. Can you explain why the President didn't give a -- express confidence?
MR. McCLELLAN: Sure. He wasn't asked about his support or confidence for
Karl. As I indicated yesterday, every person who works here at the White
House, including Karl Rove, has the confidence of the President. This was
not a question that came up in the Cabinet Room.
Q Well, the President has never been restrained at staying right in the
lines of a question, as you know. (Laughter.) He kind of -- he says
whatever he wants. And if he had wanted to express confidence in Karl
Rove, he could have. Why didn't he?
MR. McCLELLAN: He expressed it yesterday through me, and I just expressed
it again.
Q Well, why doesn't he?
MR. McCLELLAN: He was not asked that specific question, Terry. You know
that very well. The questions he were asked -- he was asked about were
relating to an ongoing investigation.
Q But, Scott, he defended Al Gonzales without even being asked --
MR. McCLELLAN: I'll come to you in a second. I'll come to you in a
second. Go ahead.
Q Yes, he defended Al Gonzales without ever being asked. (Laughter.)
Ed brings up a good point. Didn't he?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I think he was asked about the Attorney General.
Q Scott, you know what, to make a general observation here, in a
previous administration, if a press secretary had given the sort of answers
you've just given in referring to the fact that everybody who works here
enjoys the confidence of the President, Republicans would have hammered
them as having a kind of legalistic and sleazy defense. I mean, the
reality is that you're parsing words, and you've been doing it for a few
days now. So does the President think Karl Rove did something wrong, or
doesn't he?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, David, I'm not at all. I told you and the President
told you earlier today that we don't want to prejudge the outcome of an
ongoing investigation. And I think we've been round and round on this for
two days now.
Q Even if it wasn't a crime? You know, there are those who believe that
even if Karl Rove was trying to debunk bogus information, as Ken Mehlman
suggested yesterday -- perhaps speaking on behalf of the White House --
that when you're dealing with a covert operative, that a senior official of
the government should be darn well sure that that person is not undercover,
is not covert, before speaking about them in any way, shape, or form. Does
the President agree with that or not?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, we've been round and round on this for a couple of
days now. I don't have anything to add to what I've said the previous two
days.
Q That's a different question, and it's not round and round --
MR. McCLELLAN: You heard from the President earlier.
Q It has nothing to do with the investigation, Scott, and you know it.
MR. McCLELLAN: You heard from the President earlier today, and the
President said he's not --
Q That's a dodge to my question. It has nothing to do with the
investigation. Is it appropriate for a senior official to speak about a
covert agent in any way, shape, or form without first finding out whether
that person is working as a covert officer.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, you're wrong. This is all relating to
questions about an ongoing investigation, and I've been through this.
Q If I wanted to ask you about an ongoing investigation, I would ask you
about the statute, and I'm not doing that.
MR. McCLELLAN: I think we've exhausted discussion on this the last couple
of days.
Q You haven't even scratched the surface.
Q It hasn't started.
MR. McCLELLAN: I look forward to talking about it once the investigation
is complete, as the President does, as well. And you heard from the
President earlier today.
Q Can I ask for clarification on what the President said at Sea Island
on June 10th of last year, when he was saying that he would fire anybody
from the White House who was involved in the leak of classified
information? What were the parameters for those consequences? Was it --
MR. McCLELLAN: I appreciate your question.
Q Was it a knowing leak with the intent of doing damage? I'm just
wondering when he talked about that, what those parameters were?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I've nothing to add on this discussion, and if we
have any other topics you want to discuss, I'll be glad to do that.
Go ahead, David.
Q Scott, when the President asked that question at Sea -- was asked that
question at Sea Island, and, in fact, when you made your statement that
Karl had had nothing to do with this, was there an ongoing investigation at
that time?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, we've been through this for two days now, and I've
already responded to those questions.
Go ahead, April.
Q I'm going to give you another --
Q I'm sorry, I wasn't here yesterday, so could you refresh my memory?
Was there an ongoing investigation --
MR. McCLELLAN: The briefings are available online.
Q -- at the time that you answered previous questions on this issue?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I responded to those questions the past couple of
days. Go ahead.
Q The answer is, yes.
Q I'm going to go to another question, somewhat on the same subject, but
a different vein. Let's talk about the Wilson family. Is there any regret
from this White House about the effects of this leak on this family?
MR. McCLELLAN: We can continue to go round and round on all these --
Q No, no, no, no. This has nothing to do with the investigation. This
is about the leak and the effects on this family. I mean, granted there
are partisan politics being played, but let's talk about the leak that came
from the White House that affected a family.
MR. McCLELLAN: And let me just say again that anything relating to an
ongoing investigation, I'm not going to get into discussing. I've said
that the past couple of days.
Q This is not -- this is about -- this is a personal -- this is not
about the -- I mean about the investigation. This is about the personal
business of this family, an American family, a taxpaying family, a family
that works for the government of the United States. And the executive
branch -- someone in the executive branch let this family down in some kind
of way, shape, or form. Is there any regret from the White House that this
family was affected by the leak?
MR. McCLELLAN: It doesn't change what I just said.
Go ahead, Goyal.
Q Scott, two questions. One, this morning at the National Press Club,
John from the Heritage Foundation was speaking. This is -- my question is
in connection with the Prime Minister of India's visit on Monday, next
Monday. He said that the U.S. should change its policy as far as India,
China and U.S. is concerned because China is getting away with all the high
technology and with the -- technology and sensitive information, and China
is preparing for a confrontation with the United States now, and the plan
is to visit here, maybe this administration or President Bush will --
MR. McCLELLAN: Do you have a question on this, Goyal?
Q The question is that -- what are we expecting on Monday Prime Minister
of India Dr. Manmohan Singh comes here to the White House, guest of the
President? Can you lay it down a little bit?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I've already put out a statement on the visit and
talked about how we'll be talking about how to move forward on what is a
strong relationship. The President looks forward to welcoming the Prime
Minister here to the White House. This will be an official visit, and
there's a lot of activities planned around it. And maybe we can talk later
in the week more about the agenda. But I think we're still working on
finalizing the agenda with India right now.
Q Second question is on homeland security. As far as bombing in London
is concerned, now the -- British police said that four people who are or
were involved, they were from the British born, but from the -- parents
from Pakistan. Now, what my question is that, defeating the ideology or
five years that we have been going through all this terrorism and all, what
do you have to say as far as here in the U.S. what happenings -- that we
have still terrorists among us, how are we going to deal in the future --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we're continuing to take steps here at home to make
sure we're doing all we can to protect the American people. The best way
to protect the American people is to continue to stay on the offensive and
to go after the terrorists where they are and bring them to justice before
they can carry out their attacks. And we are taking the fight to the enemy
now.
We -- the President made a decision after September 11th that we were going
to take the fight to the enemy and fight them abroad so that we don't have
to fight them here at home. Now, we are also working to --
Q How about those at home?
MR. McCLELLAN: We're also working to spread freedom to defeat the ideology
of hatred and oppression that the terrorists seek to spread. This is an
ideological struggle.
Now, here at home -- and Secretary Chertoff is going to be talking about
this more here shortly, talking about some of the steps that we're taking,
and how we're working to make sure that the department is organized in a
fashion to make sure we're accomplishing our mission, which is to protect
the American people. That means preventing attacks from happening in the
first place and disrupting plots. We've made significant progress. But
this is a sustained and long struggle that we are involved in. That's why
we have to fight it on many fronts, and that's exactly what we're doing.
The President just spoke the other day about all the steps that we're
taking here at home to better protect the American people.
Q Scott, can I follow up?
Q Scott, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Doug Feith, who's
leaving, in a long interview with The Washington Post implied criticism of
the way the war in Iraq was and is conducted. He said specifically that
the country was not turned over to a new Iraqi government fast enough,
enough Kurds were not trained to pick up the slack, and that perhaps we
didn't send enough troops in to actually wage the war. And as far as we
know, this is the highest administration official who has openly criticized
the way the war was conducted. Did this come up at the Cabinet meeting
today? And is the President aware of this? Does he perhaps want to
rethink the way the war was run, in hindsight?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, it didn't come up at the Cabinet meeting. And in terms
of the decisions that were made, I would say that war is difficult and it
is tough. And you have to be prepared to adapt to changing circumstances
and adapt to the unexpected. And that's what we have given our commanders
on the ground the flexibility to do.
We've learned a lesson over history; it is that the commanders on the
ground need to have the authority and flexibility to be able to adapt to
changing circumstances. And that's exactly what we have given those
commanders.
Go ahead, Terry.
Q Scott, just to follow up on the London attacks, it now seems that the
attacks were carried out by British subjects of Pakistani descent, British
Muslim suspects. There are reports that the explosives may have come from
the Balkans where there have been radicalized Muslims. The attacks of 9/11
and others were perpetrated by Arab Muslims. The Indonesia attack was
perpetrated by Indonesian Muslims; the Beslan attacks by Chechen Muslims.
And I wonder, does the President believe that there's something wrong in
Islam itself right now, and what does he think of the reaction of Islamic
clergy and others to these attacks?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that you have seen Arab leaders, you have
seen Muslim clerics speaking out forcefully against the attacks that took
place in London. There are simply -- there is simply no excuse for
murdering innocent men, women, and children. And that's exactly the kind
of people that the terrorists are. It shows the true nature of the
terrorists.
What we saw in London is a grim reminder that we are at war on terrorism.
And this is an ideological war. These are people that have sought to
hijack a religion. Those who carry out these kind of attacks and espouse
such a hateful ideology are not religious people. They have no regard for
human life and that is -- stands in stark contrast to what we were working
to achieve last week in Scotland. We were working to save lives and
improve lives. And you see the terrorists and their ideology that they
seek to spread taking innocent human life.
They want to shake the will of the international community, and the
international community is firm in their resolve and united in our
determination to defeat the terrorists. And you defeat the terrorists by
spreading freedom and defeating their ideology.
Q So is this administration then satisfied with the criticism, the
condemnation that has come from leading Muslim clerics around the world, as
well as from the Arab press, some parts of which had seemed to justify the
attacks?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I've seen a number of Arab leaders and a number of
Muslim clerics speaking up and speaking out against the attacks that took
place. All people in the civilized world should condemn those attacks in
the strongest terms. And we should all work together to defeat the
ideology that they seek to spread, and that's why I talked about the
importance of waging this on multiple fronts. We must work to address the
root causes that lead to people hijacking planes and flying them into
buildings, or lead to people strapping bombs onto themselves, and carrying
out attacks in malls, or against innocent civilians in subways.
Q And none of those root causes have their source in the state of Islam
right now?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, Islam is a peaceful religion. It is a
religion that preaches peace. And the President has made that very clear
repeatedly. And we appreciate those that are speaking up and speaking out
against the attacks that took place.
Go ahead, Richard.
Q Scott, the President for the last two, two-and-a-half weeks has not
spoken about Social Security, can we interpret that as a backing off on his
press for Social Security?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, Social Security and -- strengthening and modernizing
Social Security is an important part of continuing to promote economic
security for all Americans. We continue to work closely with Congress.
There continue to be discussions that are going on with members of
Congress. That's an important part of the President's second-term agenda.
It's a high priority for the President, and we continue to work with
Congress and urge Congress to move forward to strengthen Social Security.
And when we talk about the budget and the budget deficit that we are on
track to cut in half by 2009, we also need to keep in mind the long-term
challenges facing our budget. And those are, on the mandatory spending
side, we need to address the entitlements. And the President has worked to
implement reforms when it comes to Medicare. And he's working to push
reforms in Social Security so that we can make sure that the needs of our
seniors are met, and we can make sure that we continue to promote long-term
economic security for all Americans.
Q Is he still hopeful of getting some legislation this year?
MR. McCLELLAN: We're continuing to urge Congress to act and get this done.
It's a high priority. The longer we wait, the more costly it becomes, and
the more limited our options become. That's why it's important to act this
year. You're talking about an additional $600 billion a year each year
that we wait to act. That's why it's so important to act now.
Go ahead, Les.
Q Scott, in the event of nuclear terror on American soil, an event that
has been characterized by some, including Vice President Cheney as
inevitable, what would the U.S. response be? And I have a follow up.
MR. McCLELLAN: Les, I don't tend to speculate about things, but let me
make very clear that one of our top concerns is the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction, and those weapons getting into the hands of
terrorists. That's why we are waging the war on terrorism and that's why
we are going to prevail in the war on terrorism and defeat the ideology --
the hateful ideology that terrorists seek to spread.
That's why we're also working to move forward on the President's
Proliferation Security Initiative. This is something we implemented. You
have more than 60 countries around the world that are coming together to do
more to interdict the proliferation or spread of weapons of mass
destruction. We are having good cooperation on that. There are a number
of ways we're acting to address the threats of proliferation. That is one
of the highest, if not the highest priorities for this administration,
because that goes directly to protecting the American people and protecting
civilized nations around the world.
I think, in fact, one of the things that Secretary Rumsfeld -- I mean,
Secretary Cheftoff spoke about today to the Cabinet was what we're doing to
address the threats from bioterrorism, as well.
Q The Washington Times editorial page this morning published a cartoon
comparing White House correspondents to sharks. My question, do you think
that they were wrong to make this comparison? (Laughter.)
Q Go ahead, Scott, let her rip.
MR. McCLELLAN: I have a picture up in my office that everybody can look
at.
Q We'll allow you to comment.
MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Olivier.
Q Two quick ones on Iran --
MR. McCLELLAN: It may not look like it, but there's a little flesh that's
been taken out of me the past few days. (Laughter.)
Q Where?
MR. McCLELLAN: Like I said, it may not look like it. (Laughter.) I can
assure you that it has been.
Q On Iran. The first one is, how does the White House interpret recent
comments by the new leadership there suggesting a move away from a uranium
enrichment freeze? And the second, what is the status of the effort to
look through U.S. government files to find out whether Iran's president
was, in fact, one of the hostage takers at the embassy?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, one of the --
Q One of the hostage takers at the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't have any update, in terms of that, in terms of what
I've said previously. In terms of the comments, I saw the news reports.
We continue to support the negotiations that are being led by our European
friends to get Iran to abandon any nuclear ambitions that they have. We
will see how those progress.
There needs to be an objective guarantee from Iran to make sure that they
are not developing nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian program.
That means there needs to be a permanent end to their uranium enrichment
and reprocessing activities. We have made that very clear. Iran has a
history of hiding and concealing their nuclear activities from the
international community, and that's why an objective guarantee is so
important. And we are all sending a very clear message to Iran about the
importance of having an objective guarantee, and we appreciate the efforts
of our European friends as they move forward on the negotiations.
Q Scott, can I follow that?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'll come back to you in a second.
Q This is in a category, I guess days ahead instead of week ahead, but
what is the topic in North Carolina on Friday?
MR. McCLELLAN: It will -- the President will focus on the importance of
getting the Central American Free Trade Agreement passed by Congress and
how important that is to the textile industry, as well. As you're aware,
this is -- the Central American and Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement
is not only important from a geo-political standpoint and important to
support emerging democracies in Central America, it's also important to
leveling the playing field. We need to have a level playing field. And
right now, when 80 percent of the imports from Central America come in here
duty free, that -- and that creates an unlevel playing field. We want to
make sure that the markets are open and that there's a level playing field.
That's important to continuing to move forward on creating jobs and
economic opportunity here at home.
Q What's the venue on Friday?
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me get you that information. I'll get you that later
in the day.
Go ahead, Connie.
Q A follow up to Terry's question, do you have any specific response to
the horrific attacks against children today in Iraq?
MR. McCLELLAN: Condemn it in the strongest possible terms. It shows the
true nature of the terrorists and the true nature of the enemy -- enemies
that we face. The terrorists have made Iraq a central front in the war on
terrorism. They will be defeated. We will prevail in Iraq, and we will
prevail in the war on terrorism. It shows that they have no regard for
innocent human life, whether it's men, women, or children. There is simply
no excuse or justification for murdering innocent civilians, particularly
children. And our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the
victims; our thoughts and prayers are with all those who lost their lives
in this suicide attack.
The terrorists are seeking to do everything they can to derail the
transition to democracy. But every step of the way, the Iraqi people have
shown that they are determined to build a free and peaceful society.
Q When terrorists commit acts, supposedly in the name of Allah, does
President Bush think that's the same as the term "God"? What is your
response on that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Those who carry out such attacks are not religious people.
Islam is a religion that teaches peace. Islam is a religion that the
President has spoken about at length, particularly in the aftermath of the
September 11th attacks. Those who seek to hijack it to spread their
hateful ideology don't represent a great faith like Islam.
Go ahead.
Q Scott, Secretary Rumsfeld has in the past told Congress, under fire
from certain members, that he has, in fact, offered his resignation and the
President has, in fact, rejected that idea, and said, no, I'd like you to
stay on. Is the same true of Karl Rove, either in the context of offering
a resignation or offering to take a leave of absence? And how has the
President responded?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think I've made the President's views on Karl very clear
and his support for all those who work at the White House, including Karl
Rove.
Q We know that the President has supported Karl publicly, but I guess
what I'm asking is, has Karl Rove offered, as a courtesy to the President,
that?
MR. McCLELLAN: And again, these are all some of the similar questions that
have been coming up over the last couple of days, and I don't have anything
to add while this investigation is ongoing. But I think the President's
views are very clear when it comes to Karl Rove and others who work here at
the White House.
Q Scott --
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me go to Jessica, and then I'll come back to you.
Q Scott, I've spoken to one person at least who says that when -- after
being interviewed by the special prosecutor was asked not to discuss
subjects, the substance of their interview, but was free to talk about this
investigation more broadly. So my question is, has the White House been
asked by the special prosecutor not to talk about specific testimony, or to
discuss nothing about this at all?
MR. McCLELLAN: These questions came up the last couple of days, and again
--
Q But you haven't been explicit. Did the special prosecutor say to the
White House --
MR. McCLELLAN: Again --
Q -- don't discuss this?
MR. McCLELLAN: I want to help the investigation proceed and come to a
successful conclusion. And the best way to do that, as I've said, not only
the last couple of days, but going back nearly two years, is to not get
into discussing the investigation from this podium, and those questions --
Q Because the prosecutor asked you not to?
MR. McCLELLAN: And those questions I've been through the last couple of
days, this morning, and there's really nothing to add. And I appreciate
it, but we've exhausted this discussion, I think. And we need to let that
investigation proceed.
Q Scott, from Africa, Mrs. Bush says, Karl Rove is a very good friend of
mine; I've known him for years. And she's not going to speculate on any
other part of the case. Well, does the President feel the same way about
Karl Rove, the relationship with Karl Rove, a very good friend for many
years?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, he does.
Q And at this point, is it ebbing or flowing? Is that relationship with
the President ebbing or flowing? (Laughter.)
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, this is a creative way to come out to the same kind
of questions.
Q You're right, it is, and I want an answer.
MR. McCLELLAN: David, you had a question on Iran?
Q Yes, just following up on Olivier's question. Is it the position of
the United States that if Iran breaks its voluntary moratorium on
enrichment that at that point all negotiations end and this goes to the
United Nations or some other action? Or is that not the explicit position?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not going to play "what ifs," but Iran did make a
commitment, as you pointed out. And they need to abide by that commitment.
They also need to abide by their international obligations, which they
have violated over the last couple of decades.
Q Europeans have said in the past that resuming enrichment activities
would end the negotiations. Is their position in common with the United
States?
MR. McCLELLAN: We have a common goal, and we have a common strategy. And
we are all sending the same message to Iran. Nothing has changed in terms
of our views --
Q Can I read that as a yes?
MR. McCLELLAN: Nothing has changed in terms of our views.
Q Scott, I have a non-Rove question. One non-Rove question.
Washington's Weekly Standard reports that when they asked the President to
identify the Supreme Court justice who is his model for what a justice
should be, he said Antonin Scalia. And he told the same thing to Tim
Russert.
And my question: Does the President disagree with Justice Scalia's strong
dissent with the 5-4 majority on the Lawrence v. Texas case?
MR. McCLELLAN: Les, you want to refresh me on that case?
Q That's the sodomy case.
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I think we've expressed our views previously. And in
terms of this question, you're bringing it up in the context of the
nomination process. That nomination process is moving forward. The
President is having good consultations with members of the Senate. He
looks forward to continuing that consultative --
Q But he did say Scalia --
MR. McCLELLAN: -- that consultative process. Yes, you have the words that
he said previously.
Ann, go ahead.
Q Scott, is the President going to watch the Shuttle launch? And has he
shelved his Mars proposal?
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I do expect the President to watch the launch. We
wish the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery a safe and successful mission.
The President looks forward to seeing the Space Shuttle Discovery launch
and the return to flight.
In terms of the mission of NASA, yes, NASA has been moving forward on the
vision that the President outlined. And this is a long-term vision that
you bring up, one part of that. But today's flight is an important step in
advancing space exploration. I think all Americans are proud of our space
program, and look forward to the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery.
It's also a day to remember those who tragically lost their life on
February 1, 2003, in -- onboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. I know all of
us in this room remember that day very well. And today's flight is a way
to honor their commitment and their dedication to space exploration.
The United States leads the way when it comes to space exploration. And we
want to continue to do that.
Q Thank you.
MR. McCLELLAN: Thank you.
Q Who is the President watching the launch with?
MR. McCLELLAN: We'll get you a photo release from that. Thank you.
END 1:15 P.M. EDT
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