    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [August 2, 2006]
    [Pages 1483-1485]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Renovation of the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room and an Exchange With Reporters
    August 2, 2006

        White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. All
    right, well, never mind. See, every once in a while, hideous threats
    have a clarifying effect. And sometimes they make people make important
    choices, and apparently the threat of my singing has persuaded the
    President of the United States to intervene on yet another mission of
    peace.
        Mr. President.
        The President. Dee Dee,
    how are you doing?
        Margaret J. ``Dee Dee'' Myers. Mr. President.
        The President. Marlin, you're looking
    as pretty as ever.
        M. Marlin Fitzwater. Thank you, Mr.
    President. Really good to see you.
        The President. Sarah, good to see you.
        Sarah Brady. How are you?
        The President. Jim, really good to see you, sir. Thank you.
        James S. Brady. Nice seeing you too.
        Q. Speech, speech.
        Q. Press conference.
        Q. Welcome, Mr. President.
        Q. We have a few questions, if you don't mind.
        Q. Just a couple of questions.
        The President. I know you've been complaining about the digs for a
    while. [Laughter] So this is like the end of an old era. And let me just
    say, we felt your pain. And so we decided, you know, to help you
    renovate and come up with a new Brady center.
        And so I want to thank the former spinmeisters for joining me up
    here. Tell my people how to do it, will you? I mean, it's a--[laughter].
        But anyway, Laura and I wanted to come by and
    wish you all the best as you get to move headquarters for a while. I
    look forward to welcome you back here in, I guess, 6 or 7 months. Is
    that right?
        Q. Nine months. We hope.
        Q. We're setting no timetables, Mr. President. [Laughter]

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        The President. That's what you get when you bring your crackpot up
    from Texas. [Laughter]
        Q. No comment, sir. [Laughter]
        The President. So, like, suede chairs? [Laughter] Is that what
    you're looking--kind of velvet armchairs? Armchairs. Everybody wants to
    be able to lean back.
        It looks a little crowded in here. And so you want to double the
    size?
        Q. Yes.
        The President. Forget it. [Laughter] You get to work like the rest
    of us. We may have some air conditioning if we decide to. [Laughter]
        Anyway, good luck in the new building. Looking forward to seeing you
    over there.
        Q. Can we come see you?
        The President. I don't know. Does the air conditioner work better
    there than here? [Laughter]
        Q. Yes.
        The President. The last time I had a press conference in here, it
    felt like it was outside. As a matter of fact, some of your makeup was
    running. [Laughter]
        Q. Mr. President, should Mel Gibson be forgiven? [Laughter]
        The President. Is that you and Gregory [David Gregory, NBC News]
    standing back there?
        Q. I was there first. [Laughter]
        The President. You know----
        Q. ----complaining that the Jews start all the wars----
        The President. Is that Sam Donaldson? [Laughter] Forget it. You're a
    has-been. We don't have to answer has-been's questions.
        Q. Ooh!
        Q. Mr. President, do you want to say a little about the White House
    press corps, please?
        The President. Say something about the White House press corps?
        Q. Yes, sir.
        The President. It's a beautiful bunch of people. [Laughter]
        Q. How about your best moment in here, sir? Can you remember your--
    --
        The President. My best moment in here is when my press conference
    ended. [Laughter]
        Q. [Inaudible]--about Mel Gibson----
        The President. I can't hear you; I'm over 60, just like you.
    [Laughter]
        Q. ----Ronald Reagan could get away with that, sir.
        The President. He was over 60 as well. At any rate, as you can tell,
    I'm thrilled to be here. [Laughter] But we do wish you all the best.
    Looking forward to being here when you kick off the new room. You
    deserve better than this. I appreciate the relationship with the press.
    I know these folks enjoyed the--enjoyed dealing with you--well, another
    crowd of you, been dealing with you as well. It's an important
    relationship.
        Joe Lockhart. Some of the same crowd.
        The President. Well, you're the head of the whole thing. Like, have
    you got a thing--a role to play?
        Q. No, no, no.
        The President. Okay, good. But anyway, good luck.
        Q. What about Crawford?
        The President. For those of you going to Crawford, saddle up. All
    right, good to see you.
        Press Secretary Snow. Thank you, everybody.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:57 p.m. in the James S. Brady Press
    Briefing Room at the White House. Participating in the visit were former
    White House Press Secretaries Margaret J. ``Dee Dee'' Myers, M. Marlin
    Fitzwater, Joe Lockhart, Ron Nessen, and James S. Brady, and his wife,
    Sarah. In his remarks, he referred to ABC News national correspondent
    Sam Donaldson. A reporter referred to actor Mel Gibson.

    [[Page 1485]]