Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Power of Pictures: President Bush Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln
Aired May 02, 2003 - 10:08 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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The USS Abraham Lincoln delivered blow after blow against Saddam Hussein's regime, but last night it may have also launched a preemptive strike in the upcoming presidential election.
Amid talk of missiles and firepower, the ship is the background for an event full of powerful pictures.
CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash is at her post with more on all of that -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Leon, powerful pictures is certainly an understatement. It was sort of the mother- of-all photo-ops. You had the president coming in for the first time in history with the traditional "tailhook" landing on an aircraft carrier, looking more top-gun than commander-in-chief.
Then later on, he went primetime using the backdrop of the military might to declare the combat phase in Iraq over, but also made clear in his speech that the war on terrorism does continue, and warned countries that harbor terrorists that they should see his willingness to use the military against them as a warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups and seeks or possesses weapons of mass destruction is a grave danger to the civilized world and will be confronted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And although he came very close, the president didn't actually declare victory, because he admitted that there are some key goals of the military campaign that have not yet been met, primarily the finding of weapons of mass destruction. That was a No. 1 goal of this campaign. Nothing has been found yet in Iraq. And also, legally, it was hard for the president to actually declare victory, because it would make it difficult to hold on to some of the Iraqi prisoners of war, and legally make it difficult to go after some of the senior Iraqi leadership.
But the president did use this address, according to the White House, to try to prepare the American people for the next phase. That is the rebuilding and reconstruction of Iraq.
And, Leon, I have to tell you, talking to some Democrats on the phone, you could hear an audible gulp when looking at these pictures. But publicly, they are saying that they think that what they saw yesterday was a stunt and a political campaign commercial in-the- making. I talked to one senior Democratic aide, who said that the president was playing top-gun on Iraq, but he's playing risky business when it comes to the economy.
And, actually, the economy is going to be something that the president will be talking about later today. He will address it -- first of all, he is actually going to leave the carrier. He's going to leave the USS Abraham Lincoln. Later, he will stop at the U.S. Naval Air Station, North Island then head to Santa Clara. That's in northern California in the heart of the depressed Silicon Valley. He will talk at United Defense Industries there. That is the developer of the Bradley Fighter Vehicle.
So, he will mix national security and the economy. He will certainly play up his tax cut proposal, which he is pushing very, very hard as he fights the Congress to get as much as he possibly can.
Later, he is going to go to Crawford, his ranch there, and he will host the prime minister of Australia to thank him for his help in the war in Iraq.
Back to you.
HARRIS: All right, good deal. Thank you, Dana -- Dana Bash at the White House.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Lincoln>
Aired May 2, 2003 - 10:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The USS Abraham Lincoln delivered blow after blow against Saddam Hussein's regime, but last night it may have also launched a preemptive strike in the upcoming presidential election.
Amid talk of missiles and firepower, the ship is the background for an event full of powerful pictures.
CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash is at her post with more on all of that -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Leon, powerful pictures is certainly an understatement. It was sort of the mother- of-all photo-ops. You had the president coming in for the first time in history with the traditional "tailhook" landing on an aircraft carrier, looking more top-gun than commander-in-chief.
Then later on, he went primetime using the backdrop of the military might to declare the combat phase in Iraq over, but also made clear in his speech that the war on terrorism does continue, and warned countries that harbor terrorists that they should see his willingness to use the military against them as a warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups and seeks or possesses weapons of mass destruction is a grave danger to the civilized world and will be confronted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And although he came very close, the president didn't actually declare victory, because he admitted that there are some key goals of the military campaign that have not yet been met, primarily the finding of weapons of mass destruction. That was a No. 1 goal of this campaign. Nothing has been found yet in Iraq. And also, legally, it was hard for the president to actually declare victory, because it would make it difficult to hold on to some of the Iraqi prisoners of war, and legally make it difficult to go after some of the senior Iraqi leadership.
But the president did use this address, according to the White House, to try to prepare the American people for the next phase. That is the rebuilding and reconstruction of Iraq.
And, Leon, I have to tell you, talking to some Democrats on the phone, you could hear an audible gulp when looking at these pictures. But publicly, they are saying that they think that what they saw yesterday was a stunt and a political campaign commercial in-the- making. I talked to one senior Democratic aide, who said that the president was playing top-gun on Iraq, but he's playing risky business when it comes to the economy.
And, actually, the economy is going to be something that the president will be talking about later today. He will address it -- first of all, he is actually going to leave the carrier. He's going to leave the USS Abraham Lincoln. Later, he will stop at the U.S. Naval Air Station, North Island then head to Santa Clara. That's in northern California in the heart of the depressed Silicon Valley. He will talk at United Defense Industries there. That is the developer of the Bradley Fighter Vehicle.
So, he will mix national security and the economy. He will certainly play up his tax cut proposal, which he is pushing very, very hard as he fights the Congress to get as much as he possibly can.
Later, he is going to go to Crawford, his ranch there, and he will host the prime minister of Australia to thank him for his help in the war in Iraq.
Back to you.
HARRIS: All right, good deal. Thank you, Dana -- Dana Bash at the White House.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Lincoln>
