White House Gaggle

By Lovisa Frost
White House Gaggle
January 30, 2006

President’s Schedule

President Bush had his usual intelligence briefings this morning. At 10
am, he will meet with his Cabinet to discuss his State of the Union

Address, as well as receiving updates from the various Cabinet officials.
Following the meeting, the President is expected to participate in speech
preparation.

This afternoon, at 1.15 pm, the President will participate in the signing
of the Presidential Proclamation in honor of the fourth anniversary of the
USA Freedom Corps.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said that there are more than
65 million Americans that volunteer with the USA Freedom Corps, an
increase of 6.5 million people since the President made his call for
service in the State of the Union Address in 2002.

Following the signing, President Bush has some policy time.

State of the Union Address

When asked what number of the draft they worked at last, McClellan said
that yesterday they were on draft 23. However, "if one word is changed it
goes to a new draft," McClellan explained.

The speech is now running for 36 minutes clocked without pauses, which
makes it slightly shorter than the 2005 State of the Union Address.

Following the State of the Union

In the weeks following the State of the Union Address, President Bush will
travel the country to speak directly to the American people about
initiatives being outlined in tomorrow night’s speech. There will be a
series of four policy speeches, one each week following the State of the
Union. "This is an opportunity for the President to lay out in greater
detail his 2006 agenda," McClellan said. Furthermore, there will be
another round of speeches on the global war on terror in February.

On Wednesday, the President will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, and
continue Thursday to Maplewood, Minnesota. He will spend Thursday night
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he will make remarks before heading to
Dallas, Texas. The President will spend the weekend on his ranch in
Crawford, Texas.

Palestinians and Hamas

When asked about financial aid for the Palestinian government, McClellan
said that, "We will not fund a terrorist organization that advocated the
destruction of Israel, and engages in terrorism." The Bush Administration
does recognize that the Palestinian people have humanitarian needs and
they are reviewing the assistance program as they move forward.