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CNN Saturday Morning News

Politicians Grade Bush's First 100 Days in Office

Aired April 28, 2001 - 08:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JASON CARROLL, CNN ANCHOR: The Bush administration reaches the 100 day mark tomorrow and CNN's Skip Loescher takes a look at the report card the president is receiving from critics and a few fans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Together, we are changing the tone in the nation's capital.

SKIP LOESCHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president began his term sounding like a moderate, saying things Democrats could applaud.

BUSH: The highest percentage increase in our budget should go to our children's education.

LOESCHER: But it wasn't long before he was acting more and more conservative, and Democrats say they now know what the president means by compassionate conservative.

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: It's compassion for conservatives.

LOESCHER: Mr. Bush supports oil drilling in Alaska's National Wildlife Preserve and espouses other positions critics say would harm the environment.

TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIRMAN: More arsenic in our water, more CO2 in our air, rolling back worker safety standards.

LOESCHER: The president appears ready to compromise a bit on his tax cut and education plans.

KAREN HUGHES, PRESIDENTIAL COUNSELOR: He wants to focus on getting tax relief back to people, improving our schools and focusing on that agenda that he campaigned on.

LOESCHER: But Democrats say Mr. Bush has not made his calls for bipartisanship real.

REP. DICK GEPHARDT (D), MINORITY LEADER: There's been no negotiation. There's been no consensus building. There have been no bipartisan conclusions.

LOESCHER: Republicans say the president has done "a marvelous job."

TRENT LOTT (R-MI), MAJORITY LEADER: He's reaching out. He's showing a lot of maturity and prudence in the way he's doing the job. And so I'd give him an A.

LOESCHER: Polls show Americans also gave Mr. Bush an A for the way he handled the spy plane incident with China, his first real foreign policy test.

Skip Loescher, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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