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President Bush Speaks in Tampa, Florida

Aired February 17, 2006 - 13:30   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to take you to live pictures at the port of Tampa right. The president of the United States is speaking there. We're going to go ahead and listen in for a minute. He's supposed to make remarks on the war on terror. We'll tell you why else he's there.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not going to, because the role of government is to create an environment where the entrepreneurs can flourish and small businesses can grow.

And the fundamental question facing this country of ours is how do we keep ourselves being the economic leader of the world. It's really an interesting question. In spite of the good economic numbers, 4.7 percent unemployment around the country, our economy growing at over three percent in the face of hurricanes, as well as high gas prices, home ownerships at an all-time highs, small businesses are growing. In spite of all of that, there's a certain sense of uncertainty. People are worried. They're worried, because they're changing jobs a lot. They're worried because the competition from India and China. There's a certain sense of uncertainty. and so we have a choice to make about our economy.

You know, do we retreat in the face of uncertainty, or do we lead? And I will be working with the Congress, members from both political parties, to be the leader of the world.

Here are some ideas. One, keep taxes low. We can't be the lead economic leader of the world if we run up your taxes, and so, we're going to keep them low.

(APPLAUSE)

And you'll hear a debate in Washington, D.C. that says, well, we've got to run up your taxes to balance the budget. That's not the way it works in Washington. They will run up your taxes and they'll figure out new ways to spend money. The best way to balance the budget is to keep the taxes low and be wise about how we spend your money. That's how we're going to balance the budget.

(APPLAUSE)

In order for us to be competitive and lead the world, we've got to get off of Middle Eastern oil. I know it shocks some of you to hear a Texan say, we're addicted to oil. And we are. And it's a problem. It's a problem. It's a national security problem and it's an economic security problem, to be reliant upon oil from parts of the world that may be unstable or parts of the world that simply don't like us. And so the best way to deal with that is to continue to foster new technologies because of research and development that will enable us to use different fuels in our cars.

For example, there is Kennedy right there. Good to see you, Kennedy.

The reason I thought of him is because he's from a part of the world that's growing a lot of crops that can be converted into energy. We're close. We're close to technological breakthroughs that will enable us to convert wood chips, sawgrass, and we already convert sugar, corn and soy into fuel. And think about that, if this technology comes true, which we believe it will. And pretty soon the president is going to say, we're growing a lot of crops and we're less dependent on Middle Eastern oil.

They're 4.5 million cars today that are flex-fuel cars, that can either run on gasoline or ethanol. In other words, the technology is available inside the automobile, and it's coming.

We're making great breakthroughs on battery technology. Next week I'm going to travel around the country, going to some of the most innovative places around our country that are providing new technologies to enable us to become less dependent on oil, which will keep us a leader in the world.

Another thing we need to do is to make sure that our health care system is modern. I want to talk real quick about Medicare here. First of all, I'm aware there's a lot of seniors in this state that rely upon Medicare. The federal government made a commitment to the seniors around the United States, starting with Lyndon Baines Johnson, that we would provide good health care to the seniors.

When I got to Washington, I found that we were not providing modern medicine. I mean, we were providing money for ulcer surgery in old Medicare, but not the prescription drugs necessary to prevent the ulcer from happening in the first place, and that didn't seem to make sense to me. It's an old centralized system that was not modern and was not fulfilling the promise we made. And so I worked with Congress, Republicans and Democrats, to get a new bill out of Congress to say we are going to provide a prescription drug benefit, and as we do, we're going to give seniors more choices and more options from which to choose.

About 25 million seniors have signed up for this new plan since January 1st. That's a lot of folks in a quick period of time. And, needless to say, when you make that kind of transition to a modern system, there's going to be some glitches. And our job is to fix those glitches. And that's what the Department of health and Human Services under Mike Leavitt is doing.

And it's important for our seniors to take advantage of this new program. Call 1-800-medicare. Or if you have a mom or a dad who's eligible for Medicare, sit down with them and explain the new benefit. It is a really good deal for America's seniors. To make sure that health care works, we'll continue to take care of the poor. In other words, the government has made a commitment to the elderly and the poor. But the government has also got to understand the best medicine is private medicine, and we should not get in between the doctors and the patients in America.

(APPLAUSE)

Finally, I want to spend a little time on education briefly. First of all, No Child Left Behind Act is working. It's a piece of legislation that says we're going to raise the standards for every child, and we're going to measure to make sure children are meeting those standards. Can you imagine -- you might remember, but when I was governor of Texas, we had a system that didn't measure right early on. And guess what happened, we just shuffled kids through the system who couldn't read and we found out too late. And that is a terrible system. It let's people down. And we're spending a lot of your money. It seems like to me, it makes sense to say, when we spend your money, we ought to insist upon results. Results are good for the taxpayers. More importantly, they're good for the students. So now we measure early before it's too late, and we're correcting problems before their too late and our kids are learning to read.

And we need to apply that same rigor to children in math and science, particularly in junior high. Fourth-grade tests, our kids are doing fine compared to other countries. But there's a big drop- off when it comes to mathematics, particularly in junior high. So we need to apply that same standard. We'll measure in junior high. And if you need help, we'll provide it for you. And the reason why is the jobs of the 21st century are going to require mastery in math, and science and engineering. And if we don't -- and if we don't make -- if we don't educate our kids, the jobs are going to go elsewhere, whether we like it or not.

So to make sure America remains the leader in the world, we're going to stay on the leading edge of research and development, and educate the young scientists of tomorrow today.

And so, look, my attitude about the future is this, particularly when it comes to the economy, and when it comes to foreign policy, we shouldn't fear it. Let's shape the future. Let's be the leader tomorrow that we are today.

Now, we're living in historic times when you think about this world we're in. It is a time of challenge and it's a time of opportunity. We've got the challenge to protect the American people. My most important duty is to protect you from harm. And we have an opportunity to lay the foundation of peace for generations to come.

I make a lot of decisions. My buddies in Texas when they show up to Washington, after they get over the initial surprise that I'm still there, or got there in the first place, say, what's it like? What is the job description? What's it like to be president? The best way to answer it is, I make a lot of decisions. And part of the reason -- my thinking was shaped on September 11th, let me put it to you that way. And I think it's important for you to understand how the president thinks and why I make decisions I make, particularly decisions relating to war and peace.

I knew we were at war when they attacked us. Matter of fact, I was down here in Florida. It didn't take long to figure out what was going on. And I vowed that day that I would not rest so long as I was the president in protecting the people. So a lot of my decision making is based upon the attack. And I know we're at war, see. I knew it then, and the enemy, unfortunately, has proved me right, because they continue to attack.

In order to win the war against the enemy, you've got to understand the nature of the enemy. First of all, these people are cold-blooded killers, people who will kill the innocent in order to achieve a tactical objective and a strategic objective. They have no conscience. You can't negotiate with these people. You cannot reason with them. You must bring them to justice.

Secondly, they have an ideology. They believe in something. Best way to describe what they believe in is to think about what life was like in Afghanistan under the Taliban. These were people that saw to it that young girls didn't get educated. If you didn't agree with their view of religion, you were whipped in the public square. They tolerated no dissent, no different point of view. Remember tearing down the -- destroying the culture from the past. They'd had no sense of history other than their dim view of history. That's what they think.

And they have made it clear their objectives. You probably have read some of Zawahiri's writings, admonitions to his fellow fighters. They've made it clear that they believe the United States is soft and weak, and that they can shake our will. They've made it clear that it's just a matter of time before we vacate parts of the world which they can then occupy in order to be able to planned plotted attacks against the United States of America. They have made it clear they're interested in weapons of mass destruction. '

In other words, they've laid out a strategy, you know, for the world to see, and my job is to take that strategy seriously. My job is to see the world the way it is, not the way some would hope it would be. If 9/11 affected our thinking, then we've got to make sure when the enemy speaks, we take every single sentence that they say seriously and deal with it. And that's what we're doing.

So, I want to share some of the strategy in winning this war on terror. Make no mistake about it. We're going to win the war on terror. We'll protect the American people.

First, when we see threats, we've got to deal with them. When I was growing up in west Texas, oceans protected us.

PHILLIPS: It's been a pretty busy day for the Bush administration. We first heard from Vice President Dick Cheney in his hometown of Wyoming. He was speaking before the Wyoming legislature. Now we're now hearing from President Bush. He paid a visit there to CentCom. As you know, CentCom is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle East. There in Tampa, Florida. Now he's speaking live at the port of Tampa, giving another speech on the war on terror.

Meanwhile, Peter Pace, the head of the Joint Chiefs, he's speaking at the National Press Club right now. And then Donald Rumsfeld, secretary of defense, is also speaking in New York. He is there at the Council on Foreign Relations.

We're going to listen in to Donald Rumsfeld for a few minutes.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: To err on the side of -- well, you know this. You were in the business. To err on the side of classification. And then we're all so darned busy that you don't go back and declassify in a timely fashion the way you should and the way it would be good if you did.

But, I mean, just think of it. If there are people who killed 3,000 people in our country several years ago and they are using a method of communicating, and we decide that some person, some individual in the government who was given access to information decides that, on his own, he'll -- he thinks he will tell the world how -- that we're actually aware of how they're communicating with each other. And he tells the world that.

Do I think that that person ought to be prosecuted for violating the oath you took? You bet. You bet. Now, does it happen very often? No. Is the government very successful? No. Does it build up legal fees for everybody for -- are there any meters working right now? It does.

But it's -- this is tough stuff. It isn't easy. There are people getting killed and there are information that should be kept secret and there's a lot of information that shouldn't be. And making those calls is not easy, and you've got a lot of people, honorable people, trying to do the best they can at it.

QUESTION: John Bratimus (ph), New York University. Third district Indiana.

RUMSFELD: Now you're talking.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, it's good to hear you again. I remember having worked with you when you were running the Office of Economic Opportunity a little while ago.

This is my question. It's perhaps it's a softball of a question, but I think it's a significant one. You've been getting a lot of criticism in respect of the Defense Department budget proposal for wanting to give too much money to big defense contractors for huge contracts and not allocating sufficient funds for our armed forces. Would you like to defend your position?

RUMSFELD: Well, John, if you're reading that, you ought to change your reading material.

QUESTION: "The New York Times," "The Washington Post."

RUMSFELD: I'll repeat myself. QUESTION: I have to say that I resisted, but with that response, I have to say when I saw my dear friend and former colleague in Congress, I said, is this the first Rummy for vice president rally?

RUMSFELD: No. No. Here's the situation. We -- you're talking about money for the troops. You know, all volunteer military, which you supported and which I supported. And it is...

PHILLIPS: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld there, speaking in New York to the Council on Foreign Relations.

We've been monitoring so many speeches today. He's speaking, also Peter Pace, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is speaking at the National Press Club. As you know, President Bush is speaking at the port of Tampa on the war on terror and then we heard from Vice President Dick Cheney, also, speaking to the Wyoming legislature, his hometown, about politics there.

Let's go back to the Pentagon. Barbara Starr has been monitoring at least all things military. You heard had the speech prior to the Q and A here with the sec-def. What did we miss, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the secretary is speaking on one of his favorite themes today. And that is the role and performance of the national news media in covering military affairs. You know, the media is not one of the secretary's favorite entities to deal with. He has consistently been fairly critical of how the media has covered national security news.

But the secretary took a very interesting turn today. What he's talked about, really for the first time that I can remember, in depth, is how he feels the government, the Pentagon and the national security structure, could improve its ability to communicate news and information to the media. He talked about the fact that -- I think he said that, you know, that the government needed to realize it was living in an eBay world. Meaning that news happens now, of course, 24/7 and that that's what the news media is really dealing with.

I want to read you one quote that I'm sure resonates both with myself and all of my colleagues in the media. He says, quote, "Today's correspondents are under constant pressure in a hyper- competitive media environment to produce exclusives and breaking stories. Daily or weekly deadlines have turned into updates by the hour or even by the minute." And of course, we all know the secretary is exactly right on that. But that, he says, is posing real challenges for the government. How to communicate information around the world.

He hasn't really mentioned it, but clearly, you know, the violence that we have seen as a result of the cartoons about the Prophet Muhammed show everyone that, really, we are in a 24/7 blog news environment. And news travels fast, whether it's true or not.

The secretary also turned his attention to Iraq briefly and had some very interesting comments, really forewarning people that there could still be very tough times ahead. Have a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUMSFELD: We're going to have to pull out some pieces of real estate and turn over things to Iraqis, and they're going to drop the ball. Let's face it. And we're going to have to step in, go back in and fix it and then turn it back over again. And it's going to be three steps forward and one step back. It isn't going to be perfect, it isn't going to be pretty. It isn't going to look like a United States of America. It's going to be an Iraqi solution politically and an Iraqi solution economically and an Iraqi solution...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: You know, I don't know that I have heard the secretary be quite so blunt in using those words that he expects the Iraqis to drop the ball.

But one of the themes that he is beginning to sound in all of his testimony before Congress and now in all of his public speeches and events is that he is concerned about the Iraqis developing what he calls a dependency on the United States military. He is very strongly beginning to make the case, in his words, that that dependency by the Iraqis cannot happen, that the U.S. is going to have to pull out of Iraqi eventually, and that the Iraqis are going to have to try and take care of themselves.

But he's sounding a very interesting warning note today that, if it all happens too soon, there could be plenty of troubled times ahead -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr live from the Pentagon. Thanks so much, Barbara.

We're also monitoring an apartment fire right now Marina Del Rey, California. We're working that story as we look at these live pictures coming to us from KTLA In Marina Del Rey. As you know, it's just outside of downtown Los Angeles, about 25 minutes or so, not far from Santa Monica. We'll monitor this apartment fire, bring you more information as we get it.

More LIVE FROM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: More on that apartment fire in Marina Del Rey.

Tony, what's the deal?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Kyra. You mentioned south and west of Los Angeles, and if you're familiar with Santa Monica, south of Santa Monica there, in Marina Del Rey. It's an apartment complex that is on fire. Pictures of a short time ago. Three stories of the apartment complex on fire. Unclear at this time if anyone is trapped, if anyone is injured in that building.

About 100 firefighters are on the scene, working on the ground and on the roof, as you can see here. Firefighters, just a moment ago, actually pulling back some of that roofing material to better attack that fire. Again, this is in Marina Del Rey, an apartment complex there. Three stories involved.

More to come on this, Kyra.

And thanks to our affiliate there. As you see up in the right- hand corner of the picture there, KTLA of Los Angeles for those pictures.

PHILLIPS: All right, Tony, thank you so much. We'll continue to monitor it.

We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Coming up at the top of the hour, what do the following terms mean to you? Yard sale, huckfest and dust on crust? Well, if you've been watching this dude in action at the Olympics, then you know what I'm talking about. Ahead on LIVE FROM, Olympic gold medalist the flying tomato, snowboarder Shaun White, dropping in to join me for a cruiser run.

Check out that hair. Love it, Shaun. Love it.

SHAUN WHITE, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: We're going to talk to him right after the break.

WHITE: There's a lot of it.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, It takes more than the worst natural disaster in U.S. history to stop something as powerful and prideful as Mardi Gras. Carnival is on. It's going to be scaled down a bit and lower key, but the festivities have begun, and ramped up a notch today. The beads will fly in two traditional Mardis Gras parades set for this evening. The Excalibur in Metairie and the Eve in Mandeville, Louisiana. Fat Tuesday falls on February 28th.

Between now and then, New Orleans officials predict the number of Mardis Gras visitors to reach a half million. Despite the bad times, New Orleans is determined to let the good times role.

After almost six months after Hurricane Katrina hit the city, New Orleans Mardis Gras rolls on. But are this year's celebration different from the past? Here's a look at the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: It's the 150th anniversary of Mardi Gras. But this year's party will be more of a toned-down affair, only eight days of parades instead of 16. And the parade routes have been modified.

This year is the first time the city is seeking corporate sponsors to help pay for security and cleanup. Trash bag maker Glad was the first sponsor to sign on. The company will donate 100,000 trash bags and coordinate volunteers for cleanup, as well as donate an unspecified six-figure sum to the city.

In normal years, Mardi Gras draws thousands of visitors to New Orleans, pumping an estimate $1 billion into the economy. The city says it expects to have 25,000 hotel rooms ready. There were about 35,000 available rooms before Katrina hit.

From the history books, did you know Mardi Gras is French for "fat Tuesday?" It is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which is the start of the Christian season of Lent. The celebration usually starts two months before Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras has only been canceled a few times, mostly because of war. The Crew of Rex (ph) adopted the traditional colors of purple, gold and green in 1872. The colors stand for justice, power and faith.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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