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Skriven 2006-04-03 23:39:02 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (060403) for Mon, 2006 Apr 3
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Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 3, 2006

Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan
Aboard Air Force One
En Route Cincinnati, Ohio



12:00 P.M. EDT

MR. McCLELLAN: All right, good morning, everybody. The President loosened
up a little bit this weekend. He's looking forward to throwing out the
first pitch today at the Cincinnati Reds home opener against the Chicago
Cubs.

But before I get to that, let me walk through the President's day. The
President had his usual briefings this morning, and he called Chancellor
Merkel this morning. This is part of the regular consultations the two
leaders are having on a range of issues. They talked about the continued
efforts of the international community to prevent the regime in Iran from
acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, they talked about developments in
the Middle East, Ukraine, and Belarus, as well. And the President briefed
Chancellor Merkel on Secretary Rice's trip to Iraq over this weekend.

Then following that, the President spent some time at the ranch, and then
we are now headed to Cincinnati, where, when we get there, the President
will visit both clubhouses. So he'll visit the Chicago Cubs clubhouse
first, and then the Reds. And then he'll be sitting in the owner's box for
the game after he throws out the first pitch. My understanding is that he
is the first sitting President to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a
game in Cincinnati. So just one little bit of color for you there.

And then this afternoon, after the game, we'll return back to Washington.

Q Was he really practicing this weekend?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, he did on Saturday. He got some time in where he threw
some pitches.

Q How else did he spend his weekend?

MR. McCLELLAN: He threw it with the one Cincinnati Red who is traveling
with us today, Mr. Joe Hagin. (Laughter.) We're going to his hometown. He's
spent it with some -- you know, with friends, and got in some bike riding,
and did some work around the ranch, stayed in touch with staff on a variety
of issues.

Q Discussion in those variety of issues about changes at the White House?

MR. McCLELLAN: You know I don't speculate on any of those matters.

Q Can you confirm that Treasury Secretary Snow is out?

MR. McCLELLAN: Who said that?

Q I heard reports of it.

MR. McCLELLAN: You heard reports of it. Look, there are going to be a lot
of -- there's going to be a lot of speculation.

Q Heard rumors.

MR. McCLELLAN: There's going to be a lot of speculation as a new Chief of
Staff is coming on board. And that's what it is, it's speculation. And
we're not going to get into responding to anonymous sources or the
speculation that's going on. We've already talked about the authority that
Josh will have as he comes into the position. He'll be looking at all these
issues, and we'll move forward from there.

But the President has a great economic team. Our economy is strong. And he
appreciates the job that his economic team has done. The latest report came
out this morning on manufacturing activity. Manufacturing activity has now
expanded for 34 straight months. Our economy has created nearly 5 million
jobs in the last two, two-and-a-half years. And the unemployment rate is at
4.8 percent. So we're going to continue to focus on the priorities that the
American people are most concerned about and continuing to build upon our
record of accomplishment.

Q Have you had any thoughts that you might be leaving soon?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't speculate on any personnel matters.

Q You're not speculating for yourself.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm focused on helping the President advance his agenda,
just like the rest of the team at the White House.

Q But Josh wasn't there this weekend, right?

MR. McCLELLAN: No.

Q They were in touch over the phone over the weekend, I take it?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Andy is still serving as Chief of Staff as Josh
transitions into the job. The President is staying in close contact with
the senior staff, as he does all the time. But I know there's an interest
in trying to get us to speculate about things, and we're just not going to
do that.

Q Despite Straw and Rice's visit to Iraq, the Iraqis don't seem any closer
to a unity government. What more can be done here?

MR. McCLELLAN: You said, they don't seem to be closer?

Q They don't seem any closer, right. They seem further away.

MR. McCLELLAN: Based on what?

Q Well, based on the fracturing of the Shiite coalition.

MR. McCLELLAN: I think -- the fracturing of the --

Q Well, the Shiite block is having some internal strife, problems about
calling for Jaafari --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, my understanding is that the Iraqi leaders are
continuing to work form a government of national unity, a government that
represents all the Iraqi people. You heard from Secretary Rice this
weekend, from Iraq. That's really where we stand. We continue to urge the
Iraqi leaders to move forward as quickly as possible to get a unity
government in place. That's what the Iraqi people want. It's important that
they do so, in order to, as Secretary Rice put it, help disable those who
want to create sectarian violence, and continue to foment sectarian strife.

And Secretary Rice talked about how there's a vacuum, and it's not good to
have a vacuum in politics. And so that's why she said it's time for the
Iraqi leaders to move forward and get a unity government in place.

Q Getting back to the personnel -- possible personnel changes, are you
ruling out any Cabinet or senior staff changes in the near future?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not getting into any speculation, Jay, for the -- you've
asked that question previously. When we have something to announce, we make
those announcements in due course. But I wouldn't read anything into the
speculation one way or the other. I see a lot of speculation based on
people outside the administration. The President has tapped Josh Bolten to
be his new Chief of Staff. And he will take a look at the White House
structure, he'll take a look at issues relating to the administration. And
the President is going to look to his advice and counsel as we move
forward.

Q Any announcements this week, maybe? Or would you not want to --

MR. McCLELLAN: If there's anything to announce, we will keep you posted on
it. How many times do you want to ask the same question? And you all know,
this has been a policy of ours from the get go. We just don't speculate on
any personnel matters.

Q Frist is talking of bringing the immigration bill to the floor by the end
of this week. Is that something the President would concur with, in terms
of the timing? And what about the concerns that --

MR. McCLELLAN: In terms of timing, that's for leaders in Congress to make
those determinations. But we're pleased that the Senate is moving forward
to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Senator Frist talked about the
importance of having a comprehensive piece of legislation. The President
believes it's important that any immigration reform be comprehensive. And
it begins with securing our borders. And we have taken a number of steps to
better secure our borders. But there is more to do.

And we all want to see our borders -- we all want to make sure that we have
better control of our borders. And that's why we have stepped up the number
of resources we're dedicating -- we've dedicated more resources to the
border, whether it be new technologies or more Border Patrol agents. But
there is more we would like to do, as well. And so we're working closely
with Congress on this issue. But part of securing our borders is moving
forward on a guest worker program, because that will relieve pressure off
the border. It will allow our Border Patrol agents to focus on the
criminals and the terrorists, the smugglers and traffickers that are trying
to come into this country for the wrong reasons.

And so the President is continuing to urge the Congress to move forward in
a comprehensive way. And we're pleased with the progress that's being made.

Q Is a few days enough, though, to overcome this internal conflict between
the Republicans on where to go with this bill -- what to include in the
bill?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, when you're referring to conflicts, what are you
referring to?

Q Over the guest worker program --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think there are a lot of people that have talked about the
importance of making sure that there is a comprehensive piece of
legislation. And that's what the President is continuing to urge. We're
continuing to stay in close contact with leaders -- leaders in the Senate
and leaders in the House -- and we're pleased with the progress that's
being made.

Q Can we expect an announcement --

MR. McCLELLAN: That's what's important -- what's important at this point
is, I mean, it's still early in the legislative process, but it's moving
forward. And we look forward to the Senate acting, and then moving to
conference committee, where we'll continue working with leaders once it
gets to conference committee to iron out details. The President talked
about how this is a difficult issue, it's an emotional issue. And there are
tough choices that have to be made and compromise that has to be made along
the way. But I think most Americans recognize the importance of addressing
this in a comprehensive way, because our immigration system is broken. And
if you're going to fix it, you need to address it in a comprehensive way.

Q To replace Josh Bolten at the OMB, will the President be making an
announcement any time soon on who he's picked to replace Mr. Bolten?

MR. McCLELLAN: It is a priority to get that filled. Obviously, Josh is
moving out of that position in a short amount of time, so we're moving
forward as quickly as we can to fill the position.

Q So this week maybe?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't speculate about timing on personnel matters. I'm
sorry, Jay, you've been gone for a little bit, but just a reminder about
our policies on personnel issues.

Q Where's the memo on that? (Laughter.)

MR. McCLELLAN: Anything else? Okay, thanks.

END 12:11 P.M. EDT
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