    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [December 6, 2006]
    [Pages 2152-2153]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Members of Congress
    December 6, 2006

         I've just met with Members of Congress from both political parties.
    My message is this: I want to work with the Congress; I want to work
    with people in both parties, so that we can send a message to the
    American people that the struggle for freedom, the struggle for our
    security is not the purview of one party over the other. The American
    people want us to work together, and my intention is to do just that.
        Today the Baker-Hamilton commission, the Iraq Study Group put out what I
    thought was a very interesting report. There's some very good ideas in
    there. Not all of us around the table agree with every idea, but we do
    agree that it shows that bipartisan consensus on important issues is
    possible; really important for the American people to know that there
    are people of good will here in town willing to set aside politics and
    focus on the security of this country and the peace of the world.
        And I want to thank you all for taking time out of your schedules to
    come. It means a lot to me, and I think it means a lot to the American
    people, to recognize that there are people in this town who are
    concerned more about the security of this country than they are about
    the security of their own political positions. And I'm proud to be with
    you. And I want to thank you for your thoughts. I take your comments
    very seriously. I take your ideas very seriously. And it's important to
    me that we continue to hear from the Congress as we fashion a way--a new
    way forward in Iraq, a new look, to achieve our objective of a country
    which can sustain itself, govern itself, defend itself, and be an ally
    in this war against extremism and terrorism.
        Thank you all very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:27 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White
    House.

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