Baker.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. I wonder if you can tell us today, sir,
what, if any, limits you believe there are or should be on the
powers of a President during a war, at wartime? And if the global
war on terror is going to last for decades, as has been forecast,
does that mean that we're going to see, therefore, a more or less
permanent expansion of the unchecked power of the executive in
American society?
THE PRESIDENT: First of all, I disagree with your assertion of
"unchecked power."
Q Well --
THE PRESIDENT: Hold on a second, please. There is the check of
people being sworn to uphold the law, for starters. There is
oversight. We're talking to Congress all the time, and on this
program, to suggest there's unchecked power is not listening to
what I'm telling you. I'm telling you, we have briefed the United
States Congress on this program a dozen times.
This is an awesome responsibility to make decisions on behalf of
the American people, and I understand that, Peter. And we'll
continue to work with the Congress, as well as people within our
own administration, to constantly monitor programs such as the one
I described to you, to make sure that we're protecting the civil
liberties of the United States. To say "unchecked power" basically
is ascribing some kind of dictatorial position to the President,
which I strongly reject.
Q What limits do you --
THE PRESIDENT: I just described limits on this particular program,
Peter. And that's what's important for the American people to
understand. I am doing what you expect me to do, and at the same
time, safeguarding the civil liberties of the country.
John.
Q Thank you, sir. Looking ahead to this time next year, what are
the top three or top five -- take your pick -- accomplishments that
you hope to have achieved? And in particular, what is your
best-case scenario for troop levels in Iraq at this time next
year?
THE PRESIDENT: This is kind of like -- this is the ultimate
benchmark question. You're trying to not only get me to give
benchmarks in Iraq, but also benchmarks domestically.
I hope the world is more peaceful. I hope democracy continues to
take root around the world. And I hope people are able to find
jobs. The job base of this country is expanding, and we need to
keep it that way. We want people working. I want New Orleans and
Mississippi to be better places. I appreciate very much the
progress that Congress is making toward helping a vision of New
Orleans rising up and the Gulf Coast of Mississippi being
reconstructed. I think we can make good progress down there.
One of the key decisions our administration has made is to make
sure that the levees are better than they were before Katrina in
New Orleans. That will help -- people will have the confidence
necessary to make investments and to take risk and to expand.
I appreciate the Congress, and I'm looking forward to the Senate
affirming the U.S. Congress' decisions to fund the education or
reimburse states for education. There's some good health care
initiatives in the bill. We want to make sure that people don't get
booted out of housing. We want to work carefully to make sure
people understand that there are benefits or help available for
them to find housing. We want to continue to move temporary housing
on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi so people can get better -- closer
to their neighborhoods, and get their homes rebuilt. We want to
start helping Mayor Nagin get temporary housing near New Orleans so
as this economy comes back people will be able to find jobs.
I appreciate the fact that the Congress passed the GO Zone tax
incentives in order to attract capital into the region. So one of
my hopes is, is that people are able to find hope and optimism
after the Katrina disaster down there, that people's lives get up
and running again, that people see a brighter future. I've got a
lot of hopes, and I'm looking forward to working with Congress to
get those -- to achieve some big goals.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051219-2.html
