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CNN Saturday Morning News

Bush Expected to Push Economic Message Again Today

Aired August 17, 2002 - 09:11   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush will push his economic message once more today. He continues his working vacation at the ranch in Texas. Joining us from near Crawford is Suzanne Malveaux. Hello, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. The spotlight is on fund raising this morning. The Associated Press reporting there have been 160 overnight guests at the Bush White House, including six top Republican fund raisers. It was just yesterday that the president threw a party for some of his biggest money makers. They're called The Pioneers, more than 200 of them, who collectively raised $100 million for his campaign 2000.

They arrived in Crawford by Lear jet. Some people call this president the fund raiser in chief. He has raised more money for his party than any of his predecessors, including President Clinton.

But the Bush ad's message this week certainly has not been about big money, it has been about recognizing Americans' economic hardships, also the need for fiscal responsibility.

The president considering a new economic package which would include tax breaks for small investors as well as expanding the limit for 401(K)s as well as IRA contributions.

Lawrence Lindsay, the president's economic adviser.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE LINDSAY, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: We need tax reform. We have a tax code that is far too complicated, that overtaxes savings, that overtaxes investment, and we need to make adjustments in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, the Bush administration not only focusing on the economy, but certainly on Iraq. We expect that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, as well as national security adviser Condoleezza Rice will both be here at the Crawford ranch sometime in the next week or so discussing that very issue.

And news today coming out of Russia that it is signing on a new economic cooperation package with Iraq, dealing with oil, with electricity, and production, certainly complicates the matters for the administration. It's been working with Vladimir Putin to try to distance Russia and Iraq from one another, but Russia has again established close ties, not only with Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, all members of what Bush has called the axis of evil.

It is complicating really trying to get those allies to rally around trying to oust Saddam Hussein, to back U.S. policy, which is that of regime change -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux in Texas, thanks very much.

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