Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Court Hearing Held Today for the Children Taken from a Texas Polygamist Compound; Pope Benedict XVI's Last Full Day in Washington; President Bush and Prime Minister Gordon Brown News Conference

Aired April 17, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kyra Phillips.
Hi, Don.

And I'm live in Washington and you're all live with us in the CNN NEWSROOM.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well happening right now in Texas, child welfare officials and a controversial religious group. They tried to hold a court hearing today on the fate of hundreds of children. There you go, you see the video of them walking into court this morning as they tried to get some answers from them, reporters did. But most of all, all they would say was no comment.

Things didn't go quite as planned, too, inside the courtroom. So let's go straight to San Angelo, Texas and CNN's Sean Callebs.

Sean, when you joined us last, you talked about a lot of objections. Take us through it again.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it started off with before the state even began to unveil its case, there were more than 300 attorneys here, many of them started objecting, concerned about the due process. Basically that has been the tone of this entire morning. Next the state wanted to introduce some evidence. By the time they doled all of the documents out to attorneys, they had to take a 40-minute recess to let everybody read that.

Now, let me set the tone here, if you look at the number of people trying to get in here this morning, lined up all the way out to the front sidewalk here, probably about 50 yards or so in front of Tom Green Courthouse. Many others had to spill in to a separate building, two blocks from here, a giant auditorium where they can see a video broadcast of what's going on inside the courtroom. A lot of FLDS members here as well, number of women, number of men.

Now a lot of the attorneys who are representing these children, representing FLDS, they are concerned about what's going on. They have objected to witnesses, they have objected to documents, they have objected to items that were seized trying to be introduced as evidence. All very confusing. But listen to what one FLDS member said as we tried to speak with him going into court this morning.

Anyhow, there are 416 children. We know that. Now under state law each of these children must have his or her own attorney. Well Don, if you try to bring that many attorneys, just to make statements, you're talking about hours and hours and hours of testimony. So what they've done is break various demographics down into blocks, like boys five years old and under into one block, girls five and younger in a different block.

They've given these blocks colors and each of the colors has a lead attorney. But even that isn't settling well with a lot of these ad litem attorneys, attorneys who came from all over the state to volunteer their time. They're just worried that the kids' civil rights are going to be trampled on. So right now things are moving extremely slowly in this courtroom.

LEMON: With 400-some-odd children to deal with, it's going to be a long time before we can probably figure out exactly where this is going to go Sean. And as you said, the burden of proof now is on the state. Sean Callebs in San Angelo, Texas reporting for us. Sean we thank you very much for that.

Since the polygamist ranch story broke two weeks ago we've mostly seen the private compound from the air, no outsiders, especially journalists, no one was allowed in. Well that has now changed. A spokeswoman for the sect guided CNN around the ranch for an up-close, first-hand look inside.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This room belongs to me. I take care of some little girls in here and you can see their beds are empty. This is where we have -- we hang our dresses. This is another bedroom. Several older girls live in this bedroom. This is their closet where they hang their dresses, they keep their books. They have vitamins.

Come and see our backyard. We're out in our backyard, we have grass. They come out and play on the grass. This shelf right here is for our shoes. It's generally full of children's shoes. This is our kitchen, the most delicious bread you will ever taste. This is where we eat our meals. Most of the time it's full of children's noises, happy children eating their food, but it's quiet.

My little girl's name is Marla, she's such a loveable little girl. She loves school. She's in third grade. She comes home, mother, I got an A plus today. I grab her and hug her, good job, Marla, good job. She is my only child. These are her clothes right here. This is Marla's bed. You can see it's empty and it's the hardest thing in the world for me to come and sleep in this room with no little girls.

This is our living room. We have pianos. We sing much of the time. This is our sewing room. We sew all of our clothing. This is our front door. Thank you so very much for coming. That over there is our sacred place that they have desecrated.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: More of that polygamy compound tour tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE," that's at 9:00 Eastern. PHILLIPS: A beaming Benedict XVI after the first half of a papal double header this morning in Washington as you may have seen live here on CNN. The pontiff celebrated mass before an estimated 46,000 worshipers in the brand new Nationals ball park. On Sunday he's going to do it again at Yankee Stadium before an even bigger sea of humanity. In his homily the pope hailed America as a land of freedom and opportunity and Americans as people of hope.

He also reflected on slavery, the historic mistreatment of native Americans and on the scandalous abuse of children by American priests. Now in about three hours, the pope is due to meet with Catholic educators from across the country. And after that he'll meet with more than 200 envoys of five other faiths. He leaves for New York in the morning.

LEMON: Tonight marks the third day in a row the pope has openly addressed the sex abuse scandal in the U.S. Catholic Church. But for many of the victims and their advocates mere words even from a pope just simply aren't enough.

David Clohessy is a national director of SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. He joins me now from St. Louis.

Thank you very much for joining us.

DAVID CLOHESSY, NATIONAL DIRECTOR, SNAP: Thank you Don.

LEMON: I've got to ask you before I get into this, when you heard the pope was coming to the United States, what was your reaction?

CLOHESSY: I just hoped then and still hope that the pope will take decisive action. Here is the most powerful religious figure on the planet overseeing a billion Catholics. And we think he can and should take tangible steps to safeguard kids, not just mouth pieties.

LEMON: This morning he addressed that in his message. Take a listen. I want to get your response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE BENEDICT XVI: It is in the context of this hope borne of God's love and fidelity that I acknowledge the pain which the church in America's experience as a result of the sexual abuse of minors. No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse. It is important that those who have suffered be given loving personal attention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK, David. Then he goes on to say in that same thing, great efforts have been made to deal honestly and fairly to this tragic situation and to ensure that children that our Lord loves so deeply and who are our greatest treasurers can grow up in a safe environment. Is that correct in your opinion? CLOHESSY: He's simply ill informed. Great efforts have been made by U.S. bishops in terms of public relations. There's been a lot of policies and procedures. But what hasn't happened is real reform, church officials continue to deceive parishioners, to stonewall prosecutors and to move predators around. I'm sad that the holy father is getting such misinformation from American bishops about what they've been up to.

LEMON: So what do you mean misinformation, why do you think he's getting misinformation?

CLOHESSY: Well I mean he relies for advice on men like Cardinal Law and Cardinal Mahoney, men who have spent decades concealing these crimes. Needless to say they're not going to turn to their boss and say, well, we've made paltry efforts to prevent abuse.

LEMON: Does it seem like a step though, because it's the first time really that he's really made that much of a concession, even drawing the distinction between homosexuals and those who are inclined to molest children saying that they're not the same -- they're really not the same. You don't think that this is sort of an olive branch and at least a step in the right direction?

CLOHESSY: Well, you know, talk is good if it leads to action. If talk leads to complacency, then it's hurtful. We do children a disservice if our expectations bar for such a brilliant charismatic powerful man as the pope is set so incredibly low. He is the leader of this global institution.

LEMON: I'm going to ask you this, and I understand what you're saying, but what do you want? What would you like to see done? What would you like to see the pope do?

CLOHESSY: Two simple things. We want him to take the U.S. bishop sex abuse policy and expand it, make it global. Secondly, he simply has to discipline bishops who are corrupt and duplicitous. Otherwise the cover-up will always continue.

LEMON: You mean instead of moving them around, discipline meaning what, getting rid of them?

CLOHESSY: Yes, exactly. Stop fixating on the predator priests. You can't prevent that. There always have been and always will be. But focus instead on what you can control, which is bishops who cover the crimes up. If he simply fired one or two of them or defrocked one or two of them, it would send shockwaves throughout the Catholic hierarchy and it would produce change.

LEMON: And you think that would, and real quickly if that did happen, you would be happy with that. But I've got to ask you real quickly and I have to go. Do you think that the pope is in touch with American Catholics?

CLOHESSY: He may be on many issues. On the child sex abuse issue, unfortunately he's not.

LEMON: All right. David Clohessy, the national director of SNAP, Survivor's Network of those Abused by Priests.

Thank you very much for joining us today.

CLOHESSY: Thank you.

LEMON: Many Catholics think the role of women in the church is a scandal in its own right. At the bottom of this hour we'll speak with an outspoken nun and activist and columnist, and also a scholar, that's all one person, by the way, about women of faith in the church of Rome.

PHILLIPS: President Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown meeting this hour at the White House. Their agenda is expected to include everything from Iraq and the global economy to improving relations between the U.S. and Britain. The two leaders will meet with reporters about 2:35 Eastern time. You can watch it right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's been seven months since anyone was executed in America. But now several states are ready to make up for lost time. One day after the Supreme Court upheld the legality of lethal injections, states that were awaiting that ruling are getting ready to resume executions, one of them, Florida. '

CNN's John Zarrella joins us from Miami -- John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, that's absolutely right. The Supreme Court's ruling 7-2 yesterday had been much anticipated. What the Supreme Court ruled was that two death row inmates in Kentucky charged that it was cruel and unusual punishment, the three- drug cocktail used in Kentucky. The Supreme Court said, in fact, it is not, therein opening the door to lethal injections.

Of course, it made huge headlines across the nation in newspapers from California to Arizona, to Florida, to Alabama. This is a major, major development because it does open the door for the resumption of lethal injections in many, many states, up to three dozen states. Now, the court ruling, what it did was, it raised the bar of inmates -- for inmates to prove -- you know, now they don't have to prove that there's just a risk of severe pain, but that the risk is substantial compared to alternatives.

Now, 11 states since yesterday's ruling have already gone ahead and moved to start the process toward lethal injections, one of those states, of course, is Florida. Florida responding by asking that the high court vacate the stay of Mark Dean Schwab. He was convicted of kidnapping and killing and raping an 11-year-old boy.

Now, last November, the day before Schwab was supposed to be executed here in Florida for that crime, we had the opportunity to speak with his parents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JUNNY RIOS MARTINEZ, SR., SON WAS MURDERED: Sooner or later, if it's not tomorrow, it's his turn. He's next. And he's not going to walk away from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now, opponents say that this is not the end of it because the Supreme Court has left it open, that in some states like Florida where there had been problems with lethal injections in 2006 there was a botched execution here in Florida by lethal injection, that, in fact, there are still grounds to challenge.

And the Supreme Court itself in some of the opinions stated that, rather than completely clarifying this issue, it has still left it open, that there will be challenges to lethal injection in some states as we move forward. But, Kyra, for now, states like Florida are moving ahead quickly to begin the process again of lethal injection. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: We'll see other states follow suit as well as this goes forward.

John Zarrella live out of Miami. Thanks John.

LEMON: U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has just arrived at the White House and we'll hear from him and President Bush in a joint news conference in the rose garden in just a few minutes. There's his motorcade right there to the right and of course the White House on the left. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, live pictures now. This is from Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania, which is really a suburb of Philadelphia just on the mainline there, Lower Marion Township. Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton making an appearance together. It's kind of rare. They're at a town hall meeting. But again, Haverford, Pennsylvania, Haverford College. We're tracking all the candidates today. Hillary Clinton just getting up and is about to speak.

PHILLIPS: Well, here is some advice that could have saved lots of Americans lots of grief. It's too late now for the tens of thousands of homeowners fighting foreclosure but it's worth keeping in mind as we all look ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUZE ORMAN, AUTHOR, "WOMEN AND MONEY": If you don't have money for a down payment, here is the bottom line, you cannot afford to buy a home. You can't even come close to afford to buying a home. You need at least 20 percent -- you can scoot by with 10 percent, but 20 percent down. You have to know you can afford it. Prices of real estate, they're not going anywhere.

We're in this debacle now for at least another year or two. So save up and when you have the money, be intelligent and don't make the mistakes everybody else has made that has gotten us in the situation we're in right now.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Suze Orman appeared on "ISSUE #1" with the state of the economy. It's must see viewing, "ISSUE #1" airs noon eastern right here on CNN. Now the economy is issue number one and we're going to bring you all the latest financial news all this week at noon eastern time, it's info you need on the mortgage meltdown, the credit crunch and more. "ISSUE #1", 12:00 p.m. Eastern time.

LEMON: Right here before the CNN NEWSROOM. Airline passengers didn't get one, but Congress is debating whether consumers should get a credit card bill of rights. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with some of the changes that would come with a credit card bill of rights.

Hi, Susan. How would that work exactly?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well make some changes that are some of the pet peeves for all of us who have revolving credit. The law would prevent credit card issuers Don from charging interest on debt that is paid on time and require that interest rate hikes apply only to future credit card debt and not debt already incurred.

The Federal Reserve in separate action is proposing at least 45 day's notice if an issuer plans on raising interest rates, something the bill would mandate. Bills would also have to be mailed out 25 days before the due date, up from 14 currently. According to the fed, the average American family carries $2200 in credit card debt. That was yet another factor that contributed to the mess we're in, not only the housing crisis, but just credit card debt.

LEMON: I'm just guessing this, but I would imagine the credit card companies aren't really happy about these proposals, are they?

LISOVICZ: Yes, you are correct, Don. They argue this would have a chilling effect on their business. They say the costs associated with high-risk customers would be spread to everyone. One Republican lawmaker said he fears going back to a time when only a third of Americans had credit cards and there were few choices of issuers.

The Democrat sponsoring the bill says she just wants a system that's fair to consumers. I think that's what everybody ultimately wants. We're not racking up any big numbers on the major averages today, even though we have plenty of news. We're in the heart of earnings season, kind of a mixed bag today, but IBM surprised Wall Street with better than expected earnings.

Big blue also increased its earnings forecast for the year, of course that is a Dow 30 stock, it did contribute to the Dow earlier today when the blue chips were up but not so much now. Dow is off 16 1/2 points, NASDAQ is down 14 points or about 2/3 of a percent. We're watching it all and we'll come back to you in the next hour, Don. LEMON: We show that IBM building in the video sometimes when I talk to you. That is a beautiful building, I'd love to see that building in person.

LISOVICZ: Westchester County. I was up there just recently. Not IBM, but, yes, beautiful.

LEMON: Very modern, very clean lines. Gorgeous.

LISOVICZ: Very deliberate. You can get there on the train, on the metro north.

LEMON: I'll have to go visit. OK, thank you very much for that Susan.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

LEMON: Let's talk now about U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown who just arrived at the White House. We'll hear from him and also of course our president in a joint news conference from the rose garden in just a few minutes. We're monitoring that. They're not ready.

You see his motorcade arriving at the White House. That happened moments ago. We'll get that for you right here in the NEWSROOM.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're working on several stories for you today in the CNN NEWSROOM. After a messy start, a slew of lawyers' objections and a judge ordered recess, a court hearing is back underway in Texas to determine who gets custody of more than 400 children remove from the Yearning for Zion polygamist compound.

President Bush is meeting at the White House with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. They'll be holding a joint news conference in just a few minutes. We'll bring that to you live. There you see the two men walking there. But not sure if that's from today.

Does the high price of jet fuel have airlines cutting corners? A study at New Jersey's busy Newark Airport shows a threefold increase in the number of airliners landing with low fuel levels.

PHILLIPS: No shortage of women in the humongous crowd that welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to Nationals Park in Washington, but they weren't wearing robes, despite a worldwide shortage of priests, women still can't be ordained, so millions of women still feel shut out.

Sister Joan Chittister has thought about, prayed about, written and talked about this topic probably all of her life. Among her many titles and accomplishments, she's the founder and leader of a research center for spirituality based in Erie, Pennsylvania. She joins me today live from Cleveland.

Sister, you and I have been talking about this for years? SISTER JOAN CHITTISTER, EXEC. DIR., BENETVISION: Yeah, we have, Kyra. And it hasn't gone away, has it?

PHILLIPS: No, it hasn't. So what's going on. Do you have any faith in this pope with regard to the role of women in the Catholic Church?

CHITTISTER: Well, this is the first pope who immediately after his inauguration or within the first couple months made the statement that he was aware of the woman's issue and that something had to be done about it. Now, as far as I know, no commission has been set up of any kind, and possibly -- probably, actually, the fact that we're not addressing the issue in any kind of official way in a world where this is a global issue.

This isn't a white western fad, this isn't an American question, this is happening in this is happening in every tradition, in every religion, everywhere. We have to face this. If we don't face this question, the church cannot be credible. It is seen as exclusionary, as it is, as a result.

If you look at the figures, we've lost almost 25 percent of the native Catholic population in the last ten years, and I can tell you from my experience in audiences, a lot of those are women.

PHILLIPS: Well, Sister, do you think the Catholic church is minimizing the nature of equality in the Catholic church?

CHITTISTER: I'm sure that there isn't anybody in the Catholic church, from the Pope on down, who would say that they're not committed to equality and that it doesn't exist.

What is failing to be understood, I think, is that given the context in which the church is now witnessing, a church that is facing a great deal of pluralism, multiple religions everywhere now, the whole notion of the need for survival of the globe, as well as for individuals, and therefore, a concern for human rights, the need of these people for intellectual freedom, and especially in the west where you have a very highly educated population, the church may be failing to recognize how acute the need for awareness, adjustment and change is on this issue.

PHILLIPS: But -- you bring up an interesting point, because the Pope said I'm aware of this issue about the role of women in the Catholic church. But he didn't say, I'm going to do this or I'm going to do that, or I am going to make changes. He's just saying he's aware. It sounds like he's not making any promises.

CHITTISTER: Well, as a matter of fact, I think he did imply that he would make changes, that something had to be done.

PHILLIPS: What kind of changes are we talking about, Sister? Do you want to see women as priests? Be specific with me.

CHITTISTER: Well, look, I can easily be specific. I live here on this globe. The whole question, for instance, of the woman's issue in the Catholic church has to be seen on two levels. One is theological, and that means there are questions about what are the nature of sacraments, what's the nature of baptism, what's the nature of discipleship?

Those deserve a great deal of theological discernment, discussion and study. But there's a pastoral situation. At the same time you have very conscious and aware people, men and women, women and men, who are trying to participate in this conversation, but are simply -- simply meeting a blank wall because there is no official conversation that has been begun anywhere.

As a result of that women feel excluded. You can't have -- exclusion and church is an oxymoron. They're opposites. They don't belong in the same sentence. When you're in a church you have the body of the faithful searching for the will of God all at once together. What do we have? We have a feeling of deep invisibility. We're invisible even in the pronounce of the language ...

PHILLIPS: Feminine pronouns are not even in the prayers. So, how do you make the Pope more aware? How do you get what you're looking for? And, do you believe you can with Pope Benedict?

CHITTISTER: I believe we have to make people more aware, that we have to begin in a more rational way, from the bottom up, to make it clear that when you can't have a feminine pronoun, when you don't have women developing the processes of the church itself, when women can't even reflect on the word out loud in the churches and when they're not even in the pictures.

Look at all the pictures you people are taking of this event right now. Who surrounds the pope? Who?

PHILLIPS: Men.

CHITTISTER: Only men. Only men. As far as I know, there is not even a meeting with women about this issue. The church should be leading in this issue, not the Fortune 500 companies. When little girls who are in first grade now grow up, what they're going to find is they're welcome everywhere, but they're not going to feel really welcome in the church. If this stays the way it is, God is going to be the only sexist left on the planet.

PHILLIPS: Sister Joan Chittister, you put it so well. I'll tell you what, we'll stay on top of this. You and I, of course, will continue to talk. It will be interesting to see the movement, the number of movements that the Pope is saying he is going to take on and the changes he's going to make, and the issues he's going to address.

And, I tell you what, I would love to have you as my priest, because you would tell me exactly what I need to do and I would listen. Sister, thank you.

CHITTISTER: Thanks, Kyra. You're wonderful.

PHILLIPS: Well, if you plan to attend a mass or just greet the Pope along his travels, please share your story with i-report. You can send your video, your photos, and of course, the crowds and the scene around you. We want to see it all. Just go to i-report.com.

LEMON: Kyra, she lays it out for you, doesn't she?

PHILLIPS: That's right. I would confess everything to her. I would be scared.

LEMON: She doesn't pull any punchers. That's a great interview, it was good listening to her. You did haven't to ask her any questions. I mean, she can go on and just talk.

PHILLIPS: Yes, she can.

LEMON: She really brought it home. I really want to draw attention to it because she said look at all the people surrounding the Pope. That's a very interesting concept. I've never really thought about it until she said it.

PHILLIPS: You look at the age, too, and you have to think about just the history and the traditions of the Catholic church. But already in so many areas, Don, we've seen the Catholic church become more progressive or we've seen the Pope, whether it's John Paul or Pope Benedict, address issues.

Look at the sex abuse scandal. For years and years and years this has been ignored. So, I think the rights of women -- and she even talked about other cultures, we will see -- you can't really pinpoint the time. But I think no doubt, as we move forward, those have to be addressed. There won't be any other choice.

LEMON: It's becoming part of the conversation at least, which is a start.

PHILLIPS: And we continue to talk about it, of course.

LEMON: Absolutely. OK, thanks a lot. We want to get you now to the White House, because President Bush and the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown -- I keep wanting to say Tony Blair, Gordon Brown are about to meet there in just a moment, and they are going to talk about some issues that are important.

They're going to meet in the Rose Garden in just a minute and speak. We'll bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. You won't miss a minute of it.

It was their last big chance to make a big impression on Pennsylvania voters. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama debated for almost two hours last night in Philadelphia. Obama was forced, again, to explain his comments about bitter voters in small towns. Clinton was forced to acknowledge that Obama could defeat John McCain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: The question is do you think Senator Obama can do that? Can he win?

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, yes, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the Pennsylvania primary is Tuesday. Senator Clinton holds a five-point lead in our latest poll of polls.

When it comes to selling books, it's hard to beat a presidential campaign. Barack Obama has released his 2007 tax returns. They show he and his wife Michelle made $4.2 million last year. $4 million of that total came from a big jump in the sales of Senator Obama's two books.

If the presidential races comes down to the swing states, well, that were decisive for years ago, those same states, the Democrats appear to have an early edge. A new Gallup poll finds both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton leading John McCain by four points in the so-called swing states. Those are states that were decided by five points or less back in 2004.

Senator Barack Obama is trying to reassure Jewish voters he's on their side when it comes to supporting Israel. The Democratic presidential front-runner met with a group of Jewish leaders yesterday to make his case.

Our Bill Schneider has more on Obama's efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Does Barack Obama have a Jewish problem? We asked Jennifer Siegel who covers the campaign for the Jewish Daily Forward.

JENNIFER SIEGEL, THE JEWISH DAILY FORWARD: I don't know that he has a Jewish problem, but there's been considerable debate in the Jewish community about whether he can be trusted on foreign policy.

SCHNEIDER: When Obama met with Philadelphia Jewish leaders on Wednesday, he made this assertion.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that nobody has been able to identify any set of comments that I've made, or any positions that I've taken that are contrary to the interests of the Jewish community or of Israel.

SCHNEIDER: Former President Jimmy Carter has said he will meet with Hamas. Would Obama?

OBAMA: I would not meet with Hamas, given it's a terrorist organization. It is not a state.

SCHNEIDER: Has Obama been having a problem with Jewish voters? Not really, Jewish voters are split like many other Democrats. The exit polls show Hillary Clinton carried Jewish voters in New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Obama carried Jewish voters in Connecticut, Massachusetts and California. So what's the problem?

SIEGEL: We're seeing sort of generalized uneasiness related to some scattered remarks he's made about wanting to sit down with leaders in Iran and other places about feeling that Israel does need to take steps for peace.

SCHNEIDER: The key word seems to be uneasy.

SIEGEL: Uneasy with his association with his pastor, Jeremiah Wright who of course, has had dealings with Farrakhan.

SCHNEIDER: Many Jewish leaders simply don't know him.

SIEGEL: Obama is someone who is not tremendously well known in the Jewish community; is somewhat of a screen for people to sort of project their fears onto.

SCHNEIDER (on-camera): Barack Obama is meeting with Jewish leaders to try to reassure them they have nothing to fear.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And of course, all the latest campaign news is available right at your fingertips. Just go to CNNPolitics.com. We also have analysis from the best political team on television. That and more, CNNPolitics.com.

PHILLIPS: And live to Washington, D.C. -- we're waiting to hear from the president of the United States as he meets with British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. They've been talking about Iraq, as you know.

Britain, a tremendous ally on the war on terror supporting the U.S. with Operation Iraqi Freedom in that country. They're also talking about the economy, among other issues. As soon as they step up to the mics, we will take it live.

LEMON: And it is a mystery -- a mystery movie, but not the kind you're used to. We'll talk with the man behind "Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live now from the nation's capital. We are waiting for a news conference with British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and also the president of the United States. The prime minister -- two V.I.P.s really to come to Washington within the past couple of days.

The pope, as you know, a little bit overshadowing the meeting with the prime minister. But that's OK. They've been able to talk behind closed doors about Iraq, the economy, their relationship. We're going to go ahead and listen to the two leaders right now as they step up to the mics.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Glad you're here. It's a beautiful day. It's been a pleasure to welcome a good friend to the Oval Office, and we've had a good discussion.

I appreciate our special relationship with Britain, and I believe that the actions we've taken are making it stronger. We spent time talking about the terrorists and extremists, I would remind my fellow citizens that just days after the prime minister took office, his country was attacked by murderers and extremists. And he handled the situation brilliantly.

Prime Minister Brown understands our enemies remain determined to strike our countries and to kill our people. He and I share determination, a fierce determination that these evil men must be stopped and that we can defeat their hateful ideology by the spreading of liberty and freedom.

We're working together in Iraq. I appreciate the sacrifice of the British troops, their families and the British people. During the recent fighting in the Basra province, our nation's coordinator offered support for the Iraqi security forces as they took on extremists and criminals. Most thankful for the brilliance of the British helicopter crews that fired under courage and helped evacuate wounded Iraqi solders.

I talked to prime minister about my meetings with General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker and why I made the decision I made about our troop levels in Iraq. I appreciate the fact that the prime minister briefed me on what the British commanders are saying about Iraq. The key thing there is that we're working very closely together, and that we're making progress.

I also talked about Afghanistan with the prime minister. Appreciate the 7,900 British troops that are serving bravely in that country. We talked about the very successful NATO summit that we just concluded in Romania. We talked about our commitment to see to it that we succeed in Afghanistan.

Spent some time on Iran. Our position is clear that we're going to work together, along with other nations, to make it abundantly clear to the Iranian regime that they must not have the capability of developing a nuclear weapon.

We talked about Zimbabwe, and I appreciate Gordon Brown's strong position on that issue. And I appreciate the fact that he went to the United Nations and made it abundantly clear that which I feel as well -- which is, you can't have elections unless you're willing to put the results out. What kind of election is it -- not let the will of the people be known?

I appreciate those in the region who have spoken out on this issue. Appreciate the fact that some in the region have spoken out against violence. More leaders in the region need to speak out, and the United Nations and the AU must play an active role in resolving the situation in Zimbabwe.

We shared our deep concern about the people in Darfur, and I -- share frustrations that the United Nations AU Peace Keeping Force is slow in arriving. I made the decision not to put our troops in there -- and the expectation that the United Nations, along with the AU could be effective. And they haven't been as effective as they should be. We'll continue to work to help them.

We talked about our joint desire to train health care workers in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia, as well as our continued effort to confront disease, whether it be malaria and HIV/AIDS. Then of course we spent time on our economy -- that would be two economies.

We first spent some time on the global financial markets, and then we spent time talking about what each of us are doing in our respective countries to deal with our financial circumstances. We spent some time on trade. Now, the worst signal we could send during this global uncertainty is that the world is going to become more protectionist and less willing to open up markets. And I want to thank Gordon Brown for his strong belief that the DOHA (ph) Rounds ought to proceed.

I agree with you, sir, and believe we could make good progress toward that end.

We talked about the climate change issue. I gave a speech right here in the rose garden yesterday. I don't know whether any of our press corps read it, but it was a far-reaching speech that talked about our commitment to deal an issue in such a way that we can develop technologies without wrecking our economy. It was a clear recognition that unless countries like China and India are at the table, any agreement is not going to work. And I assured the prime minister that by the time the G-8 comes, we'll work hard to make sure we can reach an international consensus that will be effective.

All in all, we had a fabulous conversation. I'm looking forward to dinner tonight.

The prime minister is bringing his wife Sarah up here to the White House. And -- Laura and I are going to cook you up a meal. Well, we'll eat one with you.

Thanks for coming.

GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

Let me first of all thank you for your warm welcome, for your hospitality and for your offer to cook the meal this evening. And let me thank you most of all for your leadership.

The world owes President George Bush a huge debt of gratitude for leading the world in our determination to root out terrorism and to ensure that there is no safe haven for terrorism and no hiding place for terrorists.

It's my profound belief that over many decades no international partnership has served the world better than the special relationship between our two countries, the United States and the United Kingdom. Following our excellent meeting, I'm able to report that the bond between our two countries is stronger than ever. From the darkest days of the second world war, when the strongest trans-Atlantic partnership was forged to defend freedom, to the challenges we face together against terrorism in every part of the world, our reliance will remain strong and steadfast in standing for freedom and for justice, and we will continue to work together with the strenuous efforts we are making together in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Today we agreed our determination that in advance of the July G-8 meeting in Japan, where all the major economies will meet together, we will do everything in our power to ensure economic stability and growth. We should be vigilant in maintaining the proactive approach to monitoring fiscal policy to enable our economies to resume their paths of upward growth. We want all our international partners to do the same. To ensure greater confidence in the financial system, all countries should ensure the immediate implementation of the plans for transparency and disclosure and risk management agreed by our finance ministers.

We agreed to work, and President Bush has just referred to this, for an early world trade (ph) deal that will give new confidence to the international economy at this time. An enhanced dialogue between oil consumers and oil producers, with rising output from the oil producing countries, should help stabilize and then cut the price of oil now at over $110 a barrel.

We want to work with the World Bank and agricultural producers to enhance food supply, tackle food shortages and increase agricultural production. Both Britain and America are taking action to help the housing market for homeowners and those who want to buy their homes for the first time.

President Bush and I also talked about, and agreed, new work programs between our two governments on development. And let me acknowledge the pioneering work of President Bush's administration and tackling on the African continent HIV/AIDS and addressing the scandal of avoidable deaths from malaria. We agreed to work together, as President Bush has just said, to increase the number of doctors, nurses and midwives in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia. A down payment, which if extended to the whole of Africa, would lead to 1.5 million more health service, health care workers.

At the same time, the professionalism and commitment of our brave forces serving alongside America with determination in Iraq and Afghanistan was the subject of much of our discussions. We praise the commitment of the troops of both America and Britain and all who serve in these two countries. We believe that our program of Over Watch in Basra and the south of Iraq is making substantial progress.

At the same time, we've agreed that the NATO summit in Bucharest, measures that we can take so that we match the military effort in Afghanistan with proposals that will enable economic and social development of that country. America and Britain have the first and second largest number of forces in both these countries. We're determined on the success of our missions.

We reiterated our common stand on Darfur. And we want to see talks from the rebels and government working together. We rated (ph) our common stance also in Burma, where it is important to repeat the call for reconciliation. And in Zimbabwe, President Bush has made a strong statement that I entirely endorse, calling for full Democratic rights of the Zimbabwean people to be respected and that elections that happen have got to be not only reported, but be fair and be seen to be fair in the interest of democracy. Not just in Zimbabwe, but the reputation of democracy throughout Africa and the world.

We've repeated our common commitments in the fight against terrorism and will continue to work together at every level to defeat terrorism where the ever it is. Iran continues to defy the will of the international community. And we're agreed on the need to strengthen the sanctions regime and ensure that these sanctions are effectively implemented. I will be talking to my European colleagues in the next few days about how we can move forward with both these issues throughout Europe. We want to extend measures to include investment in liquefied national gas.

We also discussed climate change following President Bush's announcement yesterday. We agreed we must work internationally to secure progress at the G-8 and towards a post Kyoto deal on climate change.

President, this is an ambitious endeavor that we share together. It can only be achieved by closer cooperation that will happen over these next few months.

I look forward to continuing to work with President Bush and his administration in taking it forward.

Thank you for your warm welcome and hospitality.

BUSH: Sure.

We'll take two questions this side.

Hunt, Terry Hunt (ph).

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President.

You said last week that Iraq was not an endless war. But others have called it an open-ended war and a war with no end in sight. Do you agree with those descriptions?

And Mr. Prime Minister, you met today with the three candidates who want to succeed President Bush. Did you feel a special kinship with any one of them, and do you think that the trans-Atlantic relationship will improve under the next president?

Thank you.

BUSH: One of those three has a good chance of winning.

I'm interested in succeeding in Iraq. This is a mission that is succeeding on the security front, it's getting better on the economic front and it's improving on the political front. And, therefore, my statement has been, we'll have the troops here necessary to succeed. It's -- it hasn't been easy. It's been difficult. It's taken longer than I anticipated. But it's worth it. A failure in Iraq would embolden al Qaeda, would give al Qaeda a huge victory, enable them to more likely establish safe haven in a wealthy country from which to launch attacks against us.

And a failure in Iraq would send a message to Iran that the United States and its allies were not intent upon making sure that they stay within the borders of their country and stop promoting terrorism through organizations like Hezbollah (ph) -- wouldn't take us seriously when it came to stopping their desires to have a nuclear weapon. Failure in Iraq would send a message to our friends, you can't count on America.

Success in Iraq will be a significant blow to both al Qaeda and Iran's ambitions. It's worth it, in my judgment, to succeed against al Qaeda, the very group of people that attacked our country and those who would like to do so again, even on a more massive scale. And it's worth it to say to the theocrats in Iran that you must reform, and that we're going to work to prevent you from having a nuclear weapon.

And so when it comes to troop levels and duration, my question is: What does it take to win? General Petraeus thinks we can win with fewer troops. That's why I accepted the recommendation. General Petraeus and Ryan Crocker know that the troops were necessary to provide stability for the political progress to be made -- that's being made, and for the economy to improve. And so, so long as I'm the president, my measure of success is victory and success. I've only got ten more months left of the presidency.

BROWN: There's no artificial timetable here. Let's not forget that Iraq is now a democracy, that Democratic rights have been restored to the Iraqi people, that we're now building schools and hospitals, seeing economic development. I'm particularly referring to the area where we have responsibility, and that is Basra. And let us also remember that there is progress in Iraqis now being able to take more control of their own affairs.

We're now in a situation where we've trained up 20,000 Iraqi forces, 22,000 Iraqi policemen and women. We've got more to do in that area. So our role in training the Iraqis, making it possible for them, as they did in the Basra operation, to assume more control of their own affairs is the way we want to move from combat to overwatch in Iraq.

That's exactly what we're going to do, and we're going to combine that with building up local government, whether it be local government elections, that will force militias to make a choice between the democratic process and armed insurrection. And at the same time economic and social development will be pushed forward.

We are can having a conference in London in the next few days where Iraqis and others will look at how we can move forward with the reconstruction and economic development of the area so that people have a stake in the future. They have jobs, businesses have been created and Iraqis are now running their own affairs. It is, if I might answer your second question, it is for Americans to decide who their president is going to be. I was delighted to meet the three presidential candidates who remain in the field.

What I was convinced of after talking to each of them, and talking about the issues that concern them and concern the world, is that the relationship between America and Britain will remain strong, remain steadfast, it will be one that will be able to rise to the challenges of the future. I look forward to continuing my discussions will all three of them over the next few months.

BUSH: Yes, call him (INAUDIBLE)

BROWN: Nick (ph)?

I thought you usually called Nick (ph).

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: I was afraid Nick (ph) might ask me a question this time, you know.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: The last thing I would like to do is disappoint you, Mr. President.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: Nick -- he needs a hat. My boy, you need a hat.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: I thought of getting one saying (INAUDIBLE).

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: That's right.

QUESTION: The prime minister has repeatedly said that Britain's economic difficulties started here in the United States. Do the solutions to them have to begin here as well?

And, Prime Minister, if I could ask you, you have got a very important agenda here on this trip, and yet at home increasingly you're being criticized from within your own political party. What is going wrong in your party in government and what are you going to do about it?

BROWN: I'm sticking to the job, and I'm getting on with the job.

And I think people understand that there is a difficult situation around the world. We did have a credit crunch. It did mean that there were problems that started in the financial institutions in America, but these are problems now in Europe, there are problems in Britain, there are problems in every country of the world.

And one of the issues that we're dealing with is that the issues that brought about the credit crunch are combined to rising food prices around the world, rising oil prices, and the threat of inflation in certain areas as well.

And I'm satisfied that the discussions we have had today with President Bush, yesterday in Wall Street -- I'm meeting Ben Bernanke, the head of the Federal Reserve tomorrow -- show the common ground we have in dealing with these issues ahead and getting the economy into a position where markets are moving again, where growth is restored and on an upward path, and where people can feel more safe and more secure about their jobs.

What matters to me is that people feel safe and secure about their future, about their prospects and about their jobs. And that's why we will not hesitate to take any action that is necessary to keep the economy moving forward.

That's why I have outlined today measures that include what we can do in the housing market, what we can do to tackle food price rises, what we can do to tackle oil price rises.

And that's why it's important that there is coordination across the Atlantic, indeed coordination between all the major industrial powers, so that we can all contribute what each of us can in each continent to the process of restoring both confidence in the world economy and stability and growth.

BROWN: And we will continue to do that.

And as far as the domestic situation back home, is it, I will continue to do the right thing and do what is right for the British economy and the British people.

BUSH: We're in a rough patch right now. Had a pretty good run. Matter of fact, had the most consecutive months of job growth in the country's history. And our housing market went soft and began to effect the financial markets. So we have done -- taken a variety of steps.

First, we're trying to help credit worthy people stay in their homes.

I don't know what it's like in Britain, but here, you know, the guy who gave you your mortgage generally doesn't own the paper anymore. They bundled it up and sold it somewhere else, and it's hard to find somebody to renegotiate with. So we put a system in place that helps credit-worthy homeowners renegotiate. In other words, we want to help people stay in their homes.

I'm not particularly interested in bailing out lenders or, you know, speculators. But I am interested in helping hardworking Americans be able to find a way to stay in their homes. And it's been effective -- effective program. Secondly, we worked with Congress on a pro-growth package, over $150 billion of tax cuts, most of which will start hitting people's mailboxes and/or accounts in the second week of May.

Some of the incentives in the pro-growth package are for small businesses and businesses with accelerated depreciation, incentives to invest. And it's beginning to kick in a little bit. But the program hasn't really taken effect. I mean, the consumers don't have their checks yet. And we feel good (INAUDIBLE) help our economy.

And finally, the Fed -- which is independent from the White House, I might add -- has taken some strong actions to enhance liquidity in the system.

And I'm, you know -- we will work with Congress on pieces of legislation that'll actually help people. And I will take a dim view of legislation that'll make it harder for the economy to correct.

QUESTION: Mr. President, Mr. ElBaradei of the IAEA said today that Iran's progress in developing uranium enrichment is slow, and that its centrifuges are older models.

QUESTION: So how do you reconcile that with the U.S. view that Iran is a major nuclear threat?

BUSH: Yes.

QUESTION: And, Prime Minister Brown, what concrete measures can Western governments take to address the soaring food prices? And do you think that there should be a rethinking of biofuel policy?

BUSH: Let me start on Iran here. If they learn how to enrich, it is knowledge which can be used to develop a nuclear weapon. They claimed that they have got a civilian program in place -- this is only for civilian purposes.

If that's the case, why'd they have a secret program? Why have they violated the IAEA?

And so, our objective is to, on the one hand, recognize they have a sovereign right to have civilian power by joining Russia in providing them with the fuel necessary to run their civilian nuclear facility, and then having them honor the agreements they have signed up to.

They have proven themselves to be untrustworthy. And to say that, "Well, OK, it's OK to let them learn to enrich" and assume that that program and knowledge couldn't be transferred to a program -- a military program is, in my judgment, naive.

And that is why the United States, in working with Britain and France and Germany, the United Nations Security Council, is all aiming to say to the Iranians, "Verifiably suspend your program and there's a better way forward for you."

And so it's -- our diplomatic efforts are, you know, ongoing. And I appreciate the fact that Great Britain has been a great country to work with on this issue, because Gordon Brown seriously sees the threat, as do I.

BUSH: And now is the time to confront the threat. And I believe we can solve the problem diplomatically.

And that is why we're working to verifiably suspend their enrichment.

BROWN: Well, I make no apology for saying that we will extend sanctions, where possible, on Iran.

Iran is in breach of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran has not told the truth to the international community about what its plans are.

And that's why I'm talking to other European leaders about how we can extend European sanctions against Iran over the next period of time, and to ensure that what sanctions are taken are effectively implemented, and to monitor the effect on the Iranian regime, where we see high inflation in Iran that is not properly disclosed by the regime and the effect that sanctions are actually beginning to have on that country.

So in the next few weeks we want to extend the measures and sanctions to include investment in liquefied natural gas. I believe that sends another signal to the regime that what is happening is unacceptable.

I'm pleased Secretary of State Rice is here with us today, because we will support her in the efforts that are being made, working with our other partners, including, of course, Russia and China on this, to make sure that Iran recognizes that it cannot ignore the international community and its obligations at its -- without -- with impunity.

You also asked about food prices. I'm calling a meeting in London in the next few days with the head of the World Food Programme to discuss what we can do to deal with a situation that is producing food riots in many countries, the lowest supply of food for 30 years, shortages of food in many continents and many countries that are making people worried about whether in some countries they can actually feed the people.

Now, there are long and detailed causes for why this is happening. In Asia, people's demand for better and high quality of food means that more agricultural production is needed. Subsidies in some areas have meant that there is less agricultural production in Africa than there should be.

The World Food Programme is wanting and has issued an appeal for more support. And we and America have already offered more support to help feed people who are in the greatest of difficulty.

And in the long term, yes, we will look at biofuels, where we have withdrawn some of the subsidies for biofuels. we have got to get it absolutely right that we're dealing with the environmental issue as well as dealing with the problem of increased production of food.

And, of course, we have got to increase generally our ability to produce more food for more of the world's people over the next few years.

So, yes, we must act immediately. And, yes, we must have a long- term plan. The world needs to have more supply of food to meet the rising demand of people around the world.

QUESTION: Mr. President, I noticed your warm words at the start there. Some people would suggest that the special relationship is a little less special than it was under Mr. Brown's predecessor.

QUESTION: Is that true or false?

And, Prime Minister, a domestic question, I'm afraid. A member of your government...

BUSH: False.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: A member of your government appears upset enough tonight about the abolition of the 10p rate to consider resigning. Isn't it time for you to at least consider unraveling that particular change?

BUSH: False, if you didn't hear me.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: We have got a great relationship. And we're working on a variety of issues.

Listen, our special relationship has been forged in common values and history. And we're making history together.

And we're dealing with a lot of problems. The most severe problem, as far as I'm concerned, is the willingness of people to murder innocent people to achieve their political objectives. I mean, this is the fundamental threat facing civilization in the 21st century.

And Prime Minister Brown sees the threat. He had to live through the threat.

And so it's -- our relationship is very special. And it's -- I'm confident future presidents will keep it that way. There's just such a uniqueness in the relationship.

That's not to say you can't have other friends, and we do.

(LAUGHTER)

But this is a unique relationship. It truly is. And I value my personal friendship, as well as our relationship between our countries. Look, if it wasn't a personal relationship, I wouldn't be inviting the man to a nice hamburger or something.

(LAUGHTER)

Well done, I might add.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: I'm very proud to be here today to celebrate a special relationship.

And in 1941, Winston Churchill met Franklin Roosevelt and inaugurated what is the modern phase of that special relationship. And Churchill said at the time, "same language, same hymns," he said, "same ideals, same values. Something big is happening."

And what was big that happened was that never before has a relationship yielded so much in the 1940s against the -- in the fight against the fascism, and the Cold War that then followed where we worked together, and the fight against terrorism, where, as Tony Blair said, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the American people and with President Bush. And I continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him in rooting out terrorism wherever we find it in any part of the world which puts freedom, democracy and justice at risk.

And what I think is fascinating is that over the next few months, we're developing that special relationship in new ways, a special relationship of peoples as well as of their governments, more cooperation between our universities and more exchanges between young people in Britain and young people in America; more scientific cooperation, more cooperation in the fight against cancer, whether in joint projects, the Human Genome Project, where we're working together.

Environmental action, where the institutes in Britain and America are agreeing this week to have more cooperation; and right across the board as we take the English language, Britain and America, and make it a gift and an offer to the rest of the world to make it possible for millions of people in different parts of the world to learn the English language.

So this is a special relationship, not just of governments but of peoples. And I look forward to its enhancement at all levels in the years to come. And I will work as hard as President Bush to make that relationship as strong and as enduring for the future.

You asked also about our economic policies. We have low inflation, therefore we have brought down interest rates. We have low debt, therefore we can afford to spend more. We have made a major tax reform, and you ask about the 10p rate.

Let's not forget that this April, the tax rate in Britain -- the basic rate of tax is going down from 22 pence to 20 pence. we have virtually doubled child benefit for families over the last 10 years and raised it again this year and we will raise it next year.

We're raising the child tax credit. we have got a new winter allowance addition for pensioners so that they can meet the fuel bills.

And every area where the 10p rate has affected people, whether it be low-paid workers or pensioners or whether it be families with children, we have acted to see that we could do the best by people in our country.

Now, of course, a tax reform is a big thing. But when you're reducing the basic rate from 22 pence to 20 pence, the first time it's been achieved, the lowest tax rate -- basic tax rate for 75 years, it is an important thing to do.

And I'm satisfied that once people understand the scale of the good things that we have been able to do in reforming the tax system and making it better, and that we're tackling poverty, as they do in America, by introducing and increasing tax credits for the poorest people, then whatever questions people have about these changes can be answered.

Yes, they're important changes. They move the British economy forward.

We have just seen this week that despite all the world difficulties, we have the highest employment rates at any time in our history. We have lower unemployment than at any time for 30 years. We have more vacancies in the economy. And that, combined with low inflation, a stable economy, lower interest rates as we have managed to achieve over the last few weeks, means that the British economy is well positioned to face the challenges of the future and will continue to be so.

And my answer to people who say, "What is happening domestically?" is we are taking the right long-term decisions for the British economy, whether it's on nuclear power or on housing or on planning or infrastructure.

And of course sometimes people ask questions about whether you're doing the right thing. But we will see these long-term changes through. And these are the right long-term changes for Britain and for the British people.

BUSH: You guys want to sit out here for the afternoon?

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister.

BROWN: Thank you very much.

BUSH: Thank you.

BROWN: Thank you very much.

BUSH: Thank you.

BROWN: Thank you.

BUSH: Nice to see you with us.