[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
[July 16, 2001]
[Pages 852-855]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks on Accepting a Bust of Winston Churchill and an Exchange With
Reporters
July 16, 2001
The President. Thank you, Mr. Ambassador.
I think I casually mentioned to the Ambassador, right after my swearing-in, that I lamented the
fact that there was not a proper bust of Winston Churchill for me to put
in the Oval Office. He's a man of great action, because here sits a bust
on loan from Her Majesty's Government that I accept gratefully and will
place right here, where the flowers are, beneath one of my favorite west
Texas paintings. I accept gratefully, and I look forward to looking at
Sir Winston on a daily basis.
People said, ``Why would you be interested in having the bust of an
Englishman in your Oval Office?'' And the answer is, because he was one
of the great leaders in the 20th century. He was an enormous
personality. He stood on principle. He was a man of great courage. He
knew what he believed, and he really kind of went after it in a way that
seemed like a Texan to me. He wasn't afraid of public opinion polls. He
wasn't afraid of--he didn't need focus groups to tell him what was
right. He charged ahead, and the world is better for it.
He also had a great sense of humor. There have been a lot of
Churchill stories, some of which you can repeat on TV, some of which you
can't, Mr. Ambassador. One
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that came to mind was, after he lost office in the election in 1945,
King George VI offered him the Order of the Garter. And here is what he
said: ``I could hardly accept His Majesty's offer of the Garter when his
people have given me the order of the boot.'' [Laughter]
Churchill reminds me of two things--one, we need more humor in the
public arena. He had a great wit. He had a fantastic way of making
people smile and laugh. And secondly, he reminds me of the importance of
our relationship, the relationship between Great Britain and America.
As the Ambassador mentions, in a
couple of days' time I will go to confirm and renew that relationship.
Not only will I have the honor of meeting with Her Majesty; I will also spend some quality time again with
the Prime Minister. We've got a strong personal
relationship that is most helpful to making sure our countries continue
the tie that binds.
I'm looking forward to my trip overseas. And a perfect way to begin
is to stop off in London and then eventually go to Chequers and then--
and have a very constructive and honest and straightforward dialog about
areas where we cooperate to make the world a better place.
In the meantime, Mr. Ambassador, I'm
honored that you came by. Thank you very much for bringing Sir Winston.
I look forward to visiting with him. Sometimes he'll talk back;
sometimes he won't, depending upon the stress of the moment. But he is a
constant reminder of what a great leader is like.
So, thank you for coming, sir.
United Kingdom-U.S. Relations
Q. Mr. President, is the special relationship as healthy today as it
was in Churchill's time?
The President. I think it is. I do. We cooperate in the Balkans. The
Prime Minister and I talk quite frequently on
issues that are of concern for world peace. We don't agree on every
single detail of issues, but we do agree that the relationship is
special and unique. And I think it is very strong.
Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change
Q. Are you expecting criticism, on your UK trip, of your policies on
the Kyoto treaty and missile defense?
The President. You mean, from whom? Editorial page writers? Oh,
perhaps. But on both issues I have made my positions clear. People
shouldn't doubt where the United States stands. And I made those
positions on principle.
In principle, it's important for us to develop a new strategic
framework to make the world more peaceful. The Prime Minister, in his public statement at Camp David, understood
exact--said to the people he understood exactly where I was coming from.
We will continue to consult with Great Britain on the issue. I will keep
him posted about my dialog with Mr. Putin. As a matter of fact, one of the things I look
forward to doing is sharing the conversations I had with Mr. Putin and
what my intentions are in Genoa, as well as in Shanghai, when I meet Mr.
Putin.
And I think the Prime Minister and others are
beginning to realize the cold war is over. I know he knows it's over.
And the fundamental question is, how do we deal with the threats of the
21st century?
And on global warming, the Prime Minister knows, as do the leaders
of the EU--they heard me say as loudly and as clearly as I can, we agree
with the goal of reducing greenhouse gases, but we don't accept the
methodology of the Kyoto treaty. So I look forward, over time, to
detailing our strategy with our friends and allies. And again, I repeat,
it's with the goal in mind of making sure that we all work in the world,
developing and--developing nations as well as industrial nations, at
reducing greenhouse gases.
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U.S. Sanctions Against Cuba
Q. Mr. President, on a question that is of interest to Europe, do
you plan to extend the waiver of the Title III of Helms-Burton for
another 6 months?
The President. I do.
Northern Ireland Peace Process
Q. Mr. President, do you have any initiative to suggest in Northern
Ireland that might break the deadlock between the parties there?
The President. Where? Northern Ireland? No, what I told the leaders
of--Prime Minister Blair and Ahern, I said, ``Call me if you need help.'' They're the
folks closest to the ground. They're intricately involved in the
situation, and the United States stands ready to assist. If there's
anything we can do to help bring peace to the region, my Government is
more than willing to do so.
Q. But you haven't received a call yet?
The President. I have not, but I suspect that Tony Blair and I will discuss this issue. I look forward to getting
his perspective on the issue. And again, if he needs our help, we'll be
glad to help.
President's Upcoming Visit to the United Kingdom
Q. You've been to Britain before, Mr. President. What are you
looking forward to most on your revisit?
The President. Well, I'm looking forward to going to Chequers. The
Prime Minister told me when he came to Camp David
that he thought I was--would really love to see Chequers. And my dad
told me the same thing. The Ambassador's
confirmed that as well. I look forward to going.
I look forward to seeing Her Majesty the Queen. I had the honor of coming to a state dinner here in
Washington that my mother and dad gave for her. And it's--I found her to
be a lovely, dignified, smart lady. And I look forward to representing
my country in her presence.
My first trip to overseas was a successful trip. I'm confident this
will be as well. It's such an honor to represent our Nation in foreign
capitals and to be with foreign leaders. I look forward to--but I really
look forward to making progress on key issues such as missile defense
and world trade, working with nations who are less fortunate than Great
Britain and the United States--nations in Africa. We're going to have a
very interesting session in Genoa with the leaders of developing
nations. And the United States and Great Britain will take the lead in
helping convince all our friends and allies to provide support necessary
to help nations develop, starting with free trade.
Energy Policy
Q. Mr. President, on energy, your Cabinet is out today, pushing your
energy plan. Is it a tougher sell now, given that gas prices have come
down, we're not seeing the rolling blackouts in California that we were
just a couple of months ago?
The President. Well, I think anytime there's not an immediate
problem that's apparent to people, it's tough to convince people to
think long term. But it's clear that there are warning signs. It's
clear--it should be clear to the American people that we're dependent
upon foreign sources of crude oil, when every quarter we worry about
whether or not OPEC is going to run the price of crude up. It should be
worrisome to people that the State that's had the best conservation
efforts is the State that's had brownouts. And even though there may not
be a brownout today, it's an indication that we need an energy policy.
And so we're going to take a very strong effort to convince the
American people that we've got a plan that couples not only sound
conservation but the need to develop new sources of energy. And one of
the primary topics that will be on the agenda when the President of
Mexico, Vicente Fox,
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comes after our August recess, in the beginning of September, will be to
continue to talk about the hemispheric strategy to bring natural gas
into the United States, and to Mexico, for that matter.
I'm going to meet with Jean Chretien in
Genoa, and we'll be talking about energy, I can assure you. Canada has
got a lot of natural gas in the Northwest Territories; we need to figure
out how to get that gas into the United States.
And I think the American people will listen to a rational, logical
approach about how best to create energy security and diversification,
as well as how to promote conservation.
Note: The President spoke at 1:12 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
House. In his remarks, he referred to United Kingdom Ambassador to the
United States Christopher Meyer, who presented the bust; Queen Elizabeth
II and Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom; President
Vladimir Putin of Russia; Prime Minister Bertie Ahern of Ireland; and
Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada. A reporter referred to Title III
(protection of property rights of U.S. nationals) of the Cuban Liberty
and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (Public Law No. 104-
114).