    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [March 27, 2002]
    [Pages 501-503]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters in Greenville, South Carolina
    March 27, 2002

    President's Visit

        The President. I'm looking forward to getting down to Texas. But
    first, I'm really looking forward to campaigning here in South Carolina
    for Lindsey Graham. And I'm looking forward
    to making some announcements about homeland security, both in South
    Carolina and in Georgia. And then I'm going on from there to help my
    friend Saxby Chambliss. Then I'll be heading
    home tonight.
        It's good to be back in South Carolina. I've got a lot of friends
    down here, and it's always good to stay in touch with your friends.

    Campaign Finance Reform

        Q. On campaign finance----
        The President. Yes, I signed the bill this morning.
        Q. But without much fanfare--a signal that you're really unhappy
    with it?
        The President. No, I wouldn't have signed it if I was really unhappy
    with it. I think it improves the system. And it improves the system
    because it enables an individual to give more money. And I want to do--
    is have a system that encourages more individual participation as well
    as more disclosure.
        I've always been concerned about a system where money is given to
    entities and stakeholders have no say. So I was concerned about
    shareholders of corporate America not having a say, as well as labor
    union members not having a say about how their money is being spent.
    This bill improves the system.
        Q. Mr. President, the objection you raised in the last week of
    debate on the bill is that it didn't take effect immediately, the ban on
    soft money would not take effect until after the election. Do you find

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    it ironic that given that that was your opposition, today, right after
    signing the bill, you're out raising----
        The President. I'm not going to lay down my arms. I'm going to
    participate in the rules of the system. The Senate races are very
    important for me. I want the Republicans to take control of the Senate,
    and I want Denny Hastert to be the Speaker
    of the House. And these are the rules. And that's why I'm going to
    campaign for like-minded people.

    Situation in the Middle East

        Q. Do you have any plans to talk to Prime Minister Sharon?
        The President. I don't today. I'm sure the Secretary of
    State is in touch in the area, with the
    leaders of the area. But let me say this--and I think the important
    thing about the Middle East is that we're making very good progress on
    the Tenet accord. In other words, there's a chance we'll have an
    agreement on the security arrangements necessary to hopefully then get
    into Mitchell.
        General Zinni is still in the area. Let me
    put it this way: I'm optimistic that progress is being made. And I've
    asked General Zinni to continue to work with both parties, regardless of
    whether or not they're headed to Beirut or not. The most important thing
    is getting into Tenet, getting into a security arrangement. And we're
    optimistic, and we'll see.
        Q. ----Arafat's absence today?
        The President. That the most important thing for my administration
    is to--is to work with both parties to make progress on a settlement in
    the area. And the first stage of any progress is going to be an
    agreement on what's been called the Tenet agreement, which is the
    security arrangements. And I believe we're making--I know we're making
    very good progress. Whether or not we're able to sign an accord soon or
    not remains to be seen. But progress has been made, and that is where
    the focus of this administration is, to get into Tenet.

    Textile Industry

        Q. Mr. President, are you going to do anything for the textile
    industry, like you did for the steel industry, in terms of tariffs?
        The President. One of the things that I want the people of
    Greenville to know is, I've worked very closely with Jim DeMint, and we've laid out a strategy to help the textile
    industry. And Representative DeMint, Congressman DeMint, has been very
    forceful about this. We had a very good agreement with the Commerce
    Department. The Commerce Department is now following through.

    Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

        Q. Mr. President, what was your reaction to Crown Prince Abdullah's
    speech in Beirut?
        The President. You mean the one this morning? I haven't seen the
    text yet. I haven't seen the speech--let me get the speech. I may have a
    comment later on, once I get the text of the speech.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:10 a.m. at the city's main firehouse. In
    his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel; and
    U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Gen. Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret.).
    The President also referred to the Tenet plan, the Israeli-Palestinian
    cease-fire and security plan of June 13, 2001, negotiated by Director of
    Central Intelligence George J. Tenet; and the Mitchell report, the
    Report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee, issued April 30,
    2001. A reporter referred to Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian
    Authority; and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. A tape was not
    available for verification of the content of these remarks.

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