White House Gaggle

By Meganne Britton
White House Gaggle
January 28, 2004

By Meganne Britton

President’s Schedule:
The President began this morning with his usual briefings. He met with the Secretary of Defense this morning and will meet with the Secretary of State this afternoon. At 10:40 the President will meet with several small business owners and people who have benefited from health savings, prior to his remarks on increasing access to healthcare. The President will focus on the importance of access to quality, affordable health care that benefits the health needs of the individual. He will also talk about his proposal for association health plans. He will cite examples of the importance of health savings accounts. The President looks forward to welcoming back Prime Minister Recep Tayyyp Erodan of Turkey to the White House. McClellan said the prime minister is "a strong leader and friend committed to democratic and economic reform, and Turkey is a key ally in our fight against terrorism." They will discuss a range of issues from the Middle East to Cyprus to Iraq reconstruction. McClellan will brief again at 12:30.

The New Hampshire Primary:
When asked about the President’s reactions to the New Hampshire Primary results, McClellan congratulated the candidates. He maintains that the White House will not comment on democratic Presidential candidates until the democratic candidate is secure. McClellan was asked about the threat of a possible Kerry nomination, McClellan stated "I am not going to handicap the ongoing democratic primaries." McClellan wished the democratic candidates well on the next seven primaries.

Economy and Tax Cuts:
Press Secretary McClellan said the President is looking forward to traveling across the nation, starting in New Hampshire. According to McClellan, the President is traveling to New Hampshire to discuss his economic plan. He also stated that the President will not be satisfied until everyone in the nation has a job. The President is also advocating permanent tax cuts. McClellan stated the President would like to strengthen the economy by allowing people to have money to "plan, spend, and invest." He also said "the last thing to do for the economy now is to increase taxes."

Iraq:
In the response to questions on Iraq, McClellan maintained that "Saddam was a threat, and the decision was right." He said the intelligence on weapons of mass destruction was shared before the war. McClellan said "everyone came to the same conclusion." McClellan said "we have to compare what we knew before to what we know now." According to McClellan, the CIA is looking back at intelligence judgments in Iraq in an internal process. McClellan said he would like to wait for the Iraq Survey Group to complete its study before making any more conclusions on Iraq.