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CNN Sunday Morning

Bush Monitors Developments in Washington From Working Vacation on Ranch

Aired August 18, 2002 - 11:06   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now, onto Crawford, Texas, where President Bush continues what he is calling "a working vacation" today. CNN White House correspondent John King is covering the president from there, and he joins us live with an update. What is the president up to today, John?
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Out of the public eye so far today, Fredricka. In fact, we are not scheduled to see the president until Thursday. That often changes. We may see him between now and then, when he heads to the West Coast for some political activity.

But just being on the ranch doesn't mean it's all vacation for the president. His National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is coming to Crawford tomorrow. The defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, comes this way on Wednesday. Among the topics of discussion, preparations for a possible military confrontation with Iraq. The president said Friday that he was listening to the divisive debate in the Republican Party about whether the administration should go forward with the military attack to remove Saddam Hussein from power. That debate continuing on the Sunday morning news shows this morning.

Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, for one, and he is a very influential Republican when it comes to international affairs, saying that the president and his national security team have their work cut out for them if they want to make the case to the American people that Saddam Hussein should be removed from power.

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SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), INDIANA: The president and Ms. Rice and others have to weigh themselves and then express to the American people what the cost of this will be, who will be with us, who are the allies, where are the bases, have we exhausted all of our intelligence resources, and do we have concurrence of Congress, through a vote to authorize this? Those are not impossible objectives, but it appears to me that that is required for the planning.

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KING: Another Republican senator out this morning, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, said this is, quote, "being talked to death," meaning so much speculation before the president has made his decision. And one of the president's top advisers, Communications Director Dan Bartlett also saying this morning the president hasn't gone to Congress or the American people yet to build that support because he hasn't made a decision to go ahead with military action. Bartlett saying that if the president makes that decision, you can rest assured that he will consult key allies and will consult the Congress.

He would not say, though, whether the president would ask Congress to approve, to authorize military action in advance. That is one of the debates. Many in Congress say the president should get that permission. The White House wants to keep its flexibility, so has not committed to that -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, John King, in Crawford, Texas, thank you.

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