[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).