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Q. Come out of the aquifers?
The President. Just coming out of the rock, like that one I showed
you when we first went down into the bottoms there. That's what a spring
is like.
This is the back side of the dam. These are all big cedar elms
here--cedar elm grove.
Q. Do you guys like to cook at all?
The President. Yes.
Q. Do you?
The President. Mine?
Q. Yes.
The President. Eating. You said, ``Do you guys, right?'' Oh, you
said, ``You guys like to cook.'' [Laughter] I'm pretty good with
burgers, egg salad.
Q. Are you a fancy coffee guy, or a regular----
The President. Fancy. I don't even know what we drink. I just say
this, the stronger the better.
Here's the back side of the house.
Q. In all this planning, how did you pick where you wanted the
house?
The President. We had a--the architect, David Heymann, from the
University of Texas came out here. And Laura--the decision--[inaudible].
And then David came out here--[inaudible].
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. Winds, the sun, and the big live oak.
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. No, no. And one of the things you'll see if they have
a Texas phenomenon, it's called--[inaudible]--capture the--[inaudible]--
breezes. And in the summer, you want to be able to get as much of the
breeze as you can. So the house is up high. We've got the house divided
by screened porches the wind blows through.
Q. I didn't know you had a treehouse. [Laughter]
The President. Yes, look at it. Built that for the grandkids that
don't exist. Some of the fellows go up there with some high-powered
binocs and high-powered weaponry.
Q. Yes, right.
The President. Here's another way down. There's, let's see, five
entries with the Rainy
[[Page 18]]
Creek area. You know, I'd say we've been through a third of this, about
half.
Q. So how big is the guesthouse? Is it just for one, two people?
The President. No, no, two beds, two baths, and a little sitting
room. Then we've got the--you remember the Governor's house?
Q. Yes.
The President. That's three bedrooms, two baths. That's where Condi
will stay tonight. So we've got--then Barbara and Jenna's room are at
the end of the house. A lot of time they're not here. We've got one,
two, three, four--eight guestrooms, if Barbara and Jenna aren't here.
Q. So it's plenty big.
The President. Yes. The Governor's house, is what we call that, is
where the guy from whom we bought the property lived. Then we fixed it
up.
Q. Yes, I remember. We had a little lunch, remember that, in 2000?
The President. That's right.
Q. That's where you were with Tommy Franks when you talked to us
last year.
The President. That's exactly right.
Q. I remember Colin Powell was--[inaudible].
The President. That's exactly right.
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. No, that was for the announcement, in the high
school.
Q. What was that?
The President. That was for the announcement of him being Secretary
of State.
Q. No, no, you know when you came out with Powell was--he was
still--it was right after election night when we were into the recount.
That's the first time you brought--and the Cheneys were here.
The President. Was he there?
Q. He was.
Q. He was sitting at the table.
The President. Oh, that's right. We talked about the cows the day we
announced him as Secretary of State. It was very funny.
Q. This is the back of the house here?
The President. Back of the house. This is the northern view.
Q. It's beautiful.
The President. Thanks. This is native rock. The house is contoured
so that when it rains, it drains into a 40,000-gallon cistern. We can
recycle, watering all the grasses and trees around here.
Q. Now, are these Mrs. Bush's grasses----
The President. Not yet.
Q. So that's where you go to write the State of the Union.
[Inaudible]
The President. Yes.
Q. Oh, I see, and that's the----
The President. That's the famous swimming pool----
Q. Oh, that's right.
The President. Which I dubbed the ``whining pool,'' but--
[inaudible]. [Laughter]
Q. Come on.
The President. No, I'm glad we got it. There was a lot of cajoling
going on.
Q. [Inaudible]
The President. That's exactly right.
That's one of those things that lasts about three sets. Oh, well,
we're tired of tennis.
Q. It's too hot.
The President. Too hot.
[At this point, the tour continued.]
The President. See how that little cedar is growing up from
underneath there?
Q. Yes.
The President. That will be gone by--[inaudible]. When we got out
here to haul these trees--[inaudible]. They say in Texas that if you
were to--if you were to clear land of cedars, you'd increase the water
supply by 30 percent. They're real water hogs.
Q. [Inaudible]
There is a--they say a species called the--[inaudible]--uses the old
cedar to build nests. So we maintain the old cedar.
Q. Have you ever seen one?
The President. Well, this county doesn't have them, but I'm leaving
them anyway. See the big oaks in here? This country is a good part of
the ranch.
Here's a little tank that we--[inaudible]--stock with bass.
Q. So you've got the roads numbered here, right?
The President. Well, these are intersections.
Q. I thought there was. [Laughter]
The President. No, no.
Q. Go down to 63 and 34 and get me a----
[[Page 19]]
The President. Exactly. [Laughter]
Q. I'm warm now.
The President. Good.
That's a really interesting stand of hardwoods up in there, about 80
acres of them. Great country through here. At the very end of it is the
type of canyons we've cleared out. I'd take you back there, but it's
really too wet.
Q. Do you hunt here?
The President. I don't, but some of them do. They come up here--I
let them come up here and take deer off and maintain the proper buck-to-
doe ratio. You overpopulate, you get--[inaudible]. I don't let them
shoot the turkeys.
Q. You love the turkeys.
The President. But I do let them shoot the dove. I've shot dove
here. The dove season starts Labor Day, and generally we're not here.
Q. Sir, will you let us do a little bit of this before we go in the
house?
The President. Yes. [Inaudible]--don't watch TV. There's my man,
Barney, standing guard. [Laughter] Do you want to do it right here?
Q. We'll get the camera wherever you want.
Note: The President spoke at 8:51 a.m. at the Bush Ranch. In his
remarks, he referred to Assistant Press Secretary Reed Dickens; ranch
foreman Kenneth Engelbrecht; Counsel to the President Alberto R.
Gonzales; President Vladimir Putin of Russia; President Jiang Zemin of
China; and Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida. Deputy Press Secretary Claire
Buchan referred to White House Staff Secretary Harriet Miers. Reporters
referred to Maxwell Gregory, son of David Gregory, NBC News; Senator
John Edwards of North Carolina; John Bridgeland, Executive Director, USA
Freedom Corps; and professional tennis players Chris Evert and Jana
Novotna. A tape was not available for verification of the content of
these remarks.
<DOC>
[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
[frwais.access.gpo.gov]
[Page 19-22]
Pages 1-26
Week Ending Friday, January 3, 2003
Exchange With Reporters in Crawford
January 2, 2003
2004 Election/President's Agenda
Q. Sir, there's another Democrat has thrown his hat into the ring
today, John Edwards. What do you think of the Democrat strategy to
essentially say that you're not keeping America safe enough? You've
heard some of that from some of the speeches.
The President. Oh, you know, I understand politics, and I'm not
paying attention to politics. I'm going to continue doing the job the
American people expect, which is to safeguard America and Americans.
We've got a war on our hands. There is a terrorist network that
still is interested in harming Americans, and we will hunt them down.
There are countries which are developing weapons of mass destruction,
and we will deal with them appropriately. One country is Iraq.
Obviously, we expect them to live up to the U.N. Security resolutions
and disarm, and if they won't, we'll lead a coalition to disarm them.
Another country is North Korea. And we are working with friends and
allies in the region to explain clearly to North Korea it's not in their
nation's interest to develop and proliferate weapons of mass
destruction.
It was right here at this spot where Jiang Zemin, the leader of
China, and myself got together, and we put out a joint declaration that
we expect for the Korean Peninsula to be nuclear-weapons-free. That was
a serious statement. I believe the situation with North Korea will be
resolved peacefully. As I said, it's a diplomatic issue, not a military
issue, and we're working all fronts.
North Korea
Q. Can I follow that up? You said it could be resolved
diplomatically. You were quoted not long ago saying that you loathe Kim
Chong-il. How can you----
The President. Well, what I worry about with a leader like Kim
Chong-il is somebody who starves his people. The United States of
America is the largest--one of the largest, if not the largest donor of
food to the North Korean people. And one of the reasons why the people
are starving is because the leader of North Korea hasn't seen to it that
their economy is strong or that they be fed. We've got a great heart,
but I have no heart for somebody who starves his folks.
National Economy
Q. Mr. President, when you look forward and think about economic
stimulus--we're
[[Page 20]]
beginning a new year--and the stock market people nursing some losses,
what are your views about that? And secondly, are you sensitive to the
idea that a stimulus is too weighted toward helping the wealthiest
Americans, and are you making choices based on that, to help the middle
income----
The President. Well, what I'm worried about is job creation. And I'm
worried about those who are unemployed. I am concerned about those who
are looking for work but can't find work. And so next week when I talk
about an economic stimulus package, I will talk about how to create
jobs, how best to create jobs, as well as how to take care of those who
don't have a job.
I'm concerned about all the people. And I don't view the politics
of--you know, I understand the politics of economic stimulus--that some
would like to turn this into class warfare. That's not how I think. I
think about the overall economy and how best to help those folks who are
looking for work.
Q. Do you--will you propose new tax cuts? Do you think they're
necessary now for the economy?
The President. I'm looking at all options. And of course, if I knew
the answer, I probably wouldn't tell you now, because I'd like for you
to come and pay attention to the speech.
Q. I'll do that.
The President. I know you'll do that.
North Korea
Q. Can I go back to Korea?
The President. Sure.
Q. You're talking about a diplomatic solution, and you believe that
there is one. How do you think you can bring some of the other countries
in the region that are reluctant right now----
The President. Well, I don't think the countries are reluctant to--
--
Q. ----reluctant to put pressure on.
The President. They may be putting pressure on, and you just don't
know about it. But I know that they're not reluctant when it comes to
the idea of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula. And we are in
constant contact with the Japanese and the South Koreans and the Chinese
and the Russians.
As I said--and the decision to cut off fuel oil was a joint
decision. It was not a U.S. decision; it was jointly made with the South
Koreans and the Japanese and the European Union, for that matter. It's
important for the American people to remember the history of Kim Chong-
il. He created some international tension, and the United States of
America went and signed an agreement with him. And the agreement was
that we'd provide--along with others, we'd provide fuel oil and help,
and in return, he would not enrich uranium.
But it turns out he was enriching uranium. And we blew the whistle
on the fact that he was in violation of the '94 agreement. And the
parties to that agreement came together and said, ``Well, in return for
him making that decision, in terms of him abrogating the agreement,
there will be a consequence.'' And that's where we stand right now.
So the parties have come together. There has been a joint
declaration of intent. And we will continue working to resolve the
situation.
Yes, Holly [Holly Rosenkrantz, Bloomberg News].
War With Iraq/National Economy
Q. Thank you, sir.
The President. I'm tired of these people calling you Heidi.
Q. I appreciate you----
The President. And I will correct them--[laughter]--particularly on
camera.
Q. If we do have to go to war and----
The President. With which country?
Q. With Iraq. And if--and with our economy stagnating, what makes
you confident that we can afford----
The President. First of all, you know, I'm hopeful we won't have to
go war, and let's leave it at that.
Q. But if we do, though, what----
The President. Until Saddam Hussein makes up his mind to disarm--
see, it's his choice to make. See, you need to ask him that question,
not me.
Q. But the White House is drawing up plans to pay for the war, if we
come to that. So why----
The President. Well, let's leave it at ``if,'' for a while then,
until it happens.
Other Popular 2003 Presidential Documents Documents:
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