[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
[August 8, 2001]
[Pages 950-951]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 950]]


Exchange With Reporters in Waco
August 8, 2001

President's Construction Injury

    Q. Mr. President, how's your finger?
    The President. It must be a slow news day if you're worrying about 
my finger.
    Q. Let's see it.
    Q. Does it hurt much?
    The President. Hurt? [Laughter] No. As I said, I dropped a little 
blood for voluntarism.
    Q. From a hammer or a nail?
    The President. It's the real world. It's part of keeping one's 
perspective. Washington's a wonderful place, but it's not exactly the 
real world, if you know what I mean.

President's Vacation

    Q. Some of these folks say you're--when you're in Texas--you're 
taking too long of a vacation.
    The President. They don't understand the definition of work, then. 
I'm getting a lot done. Secondly, you don't have to be in Washington to 
work. It's amazing what can happen with telephones and faxes.
    Q. What are you doing the rest of the day?
    The President. Karen Hughes is coming over. 
We're working on some things. And----
    Q. Any in particular?
    The President. She'll be over here; we'll 
work on a few things that matter.
    Q. Oh, come on, you can tell me.
    The President. I'm working on some initiatives. You'll see. There 
will be some decisions that will--I'm here, and we'll be announcing them 
as time goes on.

Stem Cell Research/National Security Issues

    Q. Stem cell next week, maybe?
    The President. It's a possibility.
    Q. Where do you want to make that decision? Where do you want to 
announce it? Have you decided?
    The President. I've got a lot of national security concerns that 
we're working on--Iraq, Macedonia, very worrisome right now. Kind of a 
blowup last night, and yesterday it looked like we had a peaceful 
resolution. It's now in doubt. Urge all--we're urging all the parties to 
get back to the table and renounce the violence. The Secretary of 
Defense and I are working on some 
projects. There will be some announcements.
    Q. Have you thought about the kind of forum you'd like to announce 
the stem cell--what do you think would be appropriate?
    The President. You're trying to get me to talk about it. My answer 
is still the same as it was the last 2 months.
    Q. If I keep trying, you might slip.
    The President. Well, I might--[laughter]--but I'm getting better 
disciplined than that. That was during the campaign that you caused me 
to slip. Now that I've figured you out--[laughter].
    All righty, listen, it's good to see everybody. I hope everybody is 
enjoying themselves here. It's not that hot compared to Washington.
    Q. That's actually true.
    The President. What?

President's Vacation

    Q. [Inaudible]--before you run?
    The President. When it gets to be 100. We ran yesterday around noon, 
which was good. And I'm probably not going to run today.
    Q. Does the heat slow you down?
    The President. A little bit, but the wind--there's wind on the 
prairie, and we go down the canyons. It's pretty cool down there.
    Q. Mr. President, any plans to go back to Austin anytime soon?

[[Page 951]]

    The President. No, not this trip. Laura is 
going down, I think, to see some friends, but I'm not going. I'm going 
to Denver and Albuquerque next week, be going to Milwaukee, another city 
that we haven't announced yet after Milwaukee--[laughter]--hint--
[laughter]--and then giving a speech in San Antonio.
    Q. Tell us why you like the heat down here.
    The President. I like the State. I love Texas; it's my home. And as 
I explained to people yesterday, this is where we're going to live. And 
just because my office is in Washington doesn't mean my home is not 
still in Texas. I love the people. I love the culture. I told the people 
in Midland when I left, I said, ``We may have changed address, but my 
heart will still be in Texas.'' And you probably realize that we haven't 
spent much time in our new home, and there's kind of a settling-in 
period. And this is part of the adjustment to our new home, and the 
house is adjusting to us. And our builder is adjusting to our phone 
calls to come over and fix--parts of the new home. [Laughter]
    Look, I'm sure it's going to be 95 in DC when we get back there in 
September, late August. I don't make my decisions based upon the 
temperature; I make my decisions based upon where I can get my job done 
and the fact that I'd like to be back in Texas. And I'm never going to 
leave Texas. This is where I like to go. Some people like to go to the 
East Coast; some people like to go to the West Coast; I like to come to 
Texas. It's where I rest. It's where I do my work. It's where I see my 
friends. And that's just me, and people are going to have to adjust to 
it.

President's Construction Injury

    Q. Sir, did you hit your finger while you were hammering?
    The President. I may have hit it, or somebody may have hit it. I'm 
not telling. [Laughter]
    Q. You've got good hand-eye coordination.
    The President. You noticed--did you see that? Seven pounds per nail.
    Q. Is that right?
    The President. Yes.
    Want a picture? All right, let's do it. We've got to get a family 
picture.
    So how long have you been in this house, for 12 years? It's a 
beautiful home. You've got a new neighbor, Gladys. I volunteered Bubba 
to come and mow the lawn. [Laughter]

Note: The exchange began at 9:55 a.m. in front of the Gowan residence, 
following the President's participation in Habitat for Humanity's 
``World Leaders Build.'' In his remarks, the President referred to Otis 
and Thresa Gowan, Habitat for Humanity homeowners; and their neighbors 
Gladys Evans and her son, Edwinn ``Bubba,'' whose home the President 
helped build. A tape was not available for verification of the content 
of this exchange.