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American Morning
Thanking the Troops
Aired February 17, 2004 - 07:10 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: For a second straight day, President Bush is on the road. Yesterday it was in Tampa, Florida, where Mr. Bush expressed optimism about the economy and urged Congress to pass more of his economic plans. Today, the president is in Louisiana, where he's going to thank troops for their service in Iraq.
What can we expect to hear from him today? Suzanne Malveaux is live for us at the White House.
Hey -- Suzanne. Good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
President Bush is going to be in Fort Polk, Louisiana later today. He's going to be visiting with National Guard troops -- those that are going to sent to Iraq shortly. And he's going to thank them for their service, for their sacrifices. This is a place where thousands of troops are trained in special ops and wartime missions.
And President Bush is going to take the time to make the case, he's going to say it's a dangerous world in which we live, that the war on terror continues, and that because of his leadership that Americans are safer after September 11, and that despite not finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that he made the right decision to take America to war -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne, I'm curious to know if today's appearance with troops, does anyone think that that is linked directly or maybe even indirectly with the questions that have come up about the president's military service?
MALVEAUX: Well, certainly the White House wants the voters to focus on his military record as a wartime president after September 11. He's going to make his case. They say that they stand by the records from 30 years ago, his service in the Texas Air National Guard. But, of course, they do want voters to focus on what he has done since September 11.
Very interestingly enough, Senator Kerry is already responding kind of in a pre-emptive strike of his own, criticizing the president for his visit today, saying that he has not done enough for veterans in terms of health care, in terms of income and pay and things of that nature. But they are certainly hoping to put that controversy to rest. They think that so far they've been successful.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us this morning. Suzanne, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired February 17, 2004 - 07:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: For a second straight day, President Bush is on the road. Yesterday it was in Tampa, Florida, where Mr. Bush expressed optimism about the economy and urged Congress to pass more of his economic plans. Today, the president is in Louisiana, where he's going to thank troops for their service in Iraq.
What can we expect to hear from him today? Suzanne Malveaux is live for us at the White House.
Hey -- Suzanne. Good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
President Bush is going to be in Fort Polk, Louisiana later today. He's going to be visiting with National Guard troops -- those that are going to sent to Iraq shortly. And he's going to thank them for their service, for their sacrifices. This is a place where thousands of troops are trained in special ops and wartime missions.
And President Bush is going to take the time to make the case, he's going to say it's a dangerous world in which we live, that the war on terror continues, and that because of his leadership that Americans are safer after September 11, and that despite not finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that he made the right decision to take America to war -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne, I'm curious to know if today's appearance with troops, does anyone think that that is linked directly or maybe even indirectly with the questions that have come up about the president's military service?
MALVEAUX: Well, certainly the White House wants the voters to focus on his military record as a wartime president after September 11. He's going to make his case. They say that they stand by the records from 30 years ago, his service in the Texas Air National Guard. But, of course, they do want voters to focus on what he has done since September 11.
Very interestingly enough, Senator Kerry is already responding kind of in a pre-emptive strike of his own, criticizing the president for his visit today, saying that he has not done enough for veterans in terms of health care, in terms of income and pay and things of that nature. But they are certainly hoping to put that controversy to rest. They think that so far they've been successful.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us this morning. Suzanne, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
