Monday
Jul282008
White House Gaggle
Monday, July 28, 2008 at 12:48PM
Briefer: Dana Perino
President’s Schedule
President Bush had his normal briefings at 8 am At 11.10 am, he will meet with the Prime Minister Gilani of Pakistan. This afternoon, at 3.15 pm, the President will participate in a photo opportunity with members of the Texas 4-H and Youth Development Program in the East Room of the White House.
White House Press Secretary Dan Perino will brief the press at 12.45 pm today.
There will also be an on-camera mid-session review briefing by Jim Nussle, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Ed Lazear, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors.
Announcements:
The final t-ball game will be held the on September 7th, and it will be a salute to the troops, featuring little league players whose parents are on active duty from all five branches of the military. This is the 20th t-ball game held on the south lawn of the White House.
Pakistan
When asked about missiles at school inside the Pakistani border with Afghanistan and if there are any reactions from the White House, Perino said that she saw the report but did not have any further information. There was also a follow up questions in regards to President Bush’s feelings about Prime Minister Gilani doing everything he can in order to confront the extremists, and Perino asked to get back once the meeting between the two had taken place. However, Perino said that “President Bush believes that the Pakistanis, including Prime Minister Gilani, recognize that the terrorists are a threat to the Pakistanis themselves not just to the Unites States or other civilized nations…” Their own Prime Minister Bhutto who was murdered by terrorists, so they have incentives to go after terrorists do it but there are under exceeding pressure from border areas, price of food ect, Perino said. The President will have a lot to talk about with the Prime Minister and maybe most importantly the discussion on counter terrorism, but also reiterating the US commitment of other types of aid such as economical, education reforms, and health care issues, Perino stated.
When asked if there are any indications that the Pakistani government really has made any attempts to confront the Taliban in the border area, Perino replied that there are operations underway to try to go after the enemy, but the government has also tried to establish some communication so that they can try to take solve the situation diplomatically. “I think the President thinks that we all need to continue to do more, and that includes us, “Perino said.
Deficit
When asked about the deficit forecasted at $ 490 billion, Perino said that she was not allowed to discuss numbers on the record but refered to the mid-session economical briefing by Jim Nussle, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Ed Lazear, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. Perino did say that the bipartisan economical stimulus package of $158 billion added to the deficit though they still think that this was the right thing to do. “ The best way to help the reduce the deficit is to make sure that you keep a lock on spending, but also that you can try to help grow the economy, so we hope to pull out of this economic downturn over the next few months because of that stimulus package, “ Perino said. Perino was also asked if we are still on track to a balanced budget by 2012, and she said that she believes so, though she referred to Director Nussle to expand on it.
Olmert statement
Perino was asked about a reaction from the White House regarding Israeli Prime Minister Olmert’s statement expressing doubt on a peace agreement with the Palestinians, and she replied that they have always said that they would not be able to get a final peace deal in terms of having everything resolved, but instead to have a way forward that would outline steps that they have to take.
China- Olympics and foreign press access
Perino was asked if the White House is satisfied with the security situation and also the access for foreign journalists. “Having the Olympics in China is different than having them in the United States… so we are aware of a lot of the concerns… From our perspective, so far, we feel that we have had some pretty good corporation we always like to have more access for our journalists so we continue to work on it. “
President’s Schedule
President Bush had his normal briefings at 8 am At 11.10 am, he will meet with the Prime Minister Gilani of Pakistan. This afternoon, at 3.15 pm, the President will participate in a photo opportunity with members of the Texas 4-H and Youth Development Program in the East Room of the White House.
White House Press Secretary Dan Perino will brief the press at 12.45 pm today.
There will also be an on-camera mid-session review briefing by Jim Nussle, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Ed Lazear, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors.
Announcements:
The final t-ball game will be held the on September 7th, and it will be a salute to the troops, featuring little league players whose parents are on active duty from all five branches of the military. This is the 20th t-ball game held on the south lawn of the White House.
Pakistan
When asked about missiles at school inside the Pakistani border with Afghanistan and if there are any reactions from the White House, Perino said that she saw the report but did not have any further information. There was also a follow up questions in regards to President Bush’s feelings about Prime Minister Gilani doing everything he can in order to confront the extremists, and Perino asked to get back once the meeting between the two had taken place. However, Perino said that “President Bush believes that the Pakistanis, including Prime Minister Gilani, recognize that the terrorists are a threat to the Pakistanis themselves not just to the Unites States or other civilized nations…” Their own Prime Minister Bhutto who was murdered by terrorists, so they have incentives to go after terrorists do it but there are under exceeding pressure from border areas, price of food ect, Perino said. The President will have a lot to talk about with the Prime Minister and maybe most importantly the discussion on counter terrorism, but also reiterating the US commitment of other types of aid such as economical, education reforms, and health care issues, Perino stated.
When asked if there are any indications that the Pakistani government really has made any attempts to confront the Taliban in the border area, Perino replied that there are operations underway to try to go after the enemy, but the government has also tried to establish some communication so that they can try to take solve the situation diplomatically. “I think the President thinks that we all need to continue to do more, and that includes us, “Perino said.
Deficit
When asked about the deficit forecasted at $ 490 billion, Perino said that she was not allowed to discuss numbers on the record but refered to the mid-session economical briefing by Jim Nussle, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Ed Lazear, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. Perino did say that the bipartisan economical stimulus package of $158 billion added to the deficit though they still think that this was the right thing to do. “ The best way to help the reduce the deficit is to make sure that you keep a lock on spending, but also that you can try to help grow the economy, so we hope to pull out of this economic downturn over the next few months because of that stimulus package, “ Perino said. Perino was also asked if we are still on track to a balanced budget by 2012, and she said that she believes so, though she referred to Director Nussle to expand on it.
Olmert statement
Perino was asked about a reaction from the White House regarding Israeli Prime Minister Olmert’s statement expressing doubt on a peace agreement with the Palestinians, and she replied that they have always said that they would not be able to get a final peace deal in terms of having everything resolved, but instead to have a way forward that would outline steps that they have to take.
China- Olympics and foreign press access
Perino was asked if the White House is satisfied with the security situation and also the access for foreign journalists. “Having the Olympics in China is different than having them in the United States… so we are aware of a lot of the concerns… From our perspective, so far, we feel that we have had some pretty good corporation we always like to have more access for our journalists so we continue to work on it. “
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