[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
[June 6, 2008]
[Pages 789-792]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Interview With Christian Malard of France 3 
TV
June 6, 2008

President's Legacy

    Mr. Malard. Mr. President, after 8 years at the White House, how 
does President George W. Bush judge President George W. Bush? What are 
your good points, according to you, and your negative points?
    The President. Well, you know, I think that people will say he's a 
decisive person who took action when necessary to protect his country 
and to address the problems of the world. Bad points are probably 
sometimes my rhetoric was a little--was misunderstood. I mean, I can 
remember saying, you know, ``dead or alive,'' which sent--it sent 
signals that could be easily misinterpreted.
    I think people will say that he was tough when he needed to be tough 
and compassionate when he needed to be compassionate, because our agenda 
was not only dealing with terror but freeing people is a compassionate 
act, but freeing people not only from forms of tyranny but from diseases 
like HIV/AIDS or malaria or hunger. And the United States is proudly in 
the lead on these issues.

War on Terror/Global Economy

    Mr. Malard. Today, the world is struck by economic crisis.
    The President. Yes.
    Mr. Malard. Instability, terrorism still prevail in Middle East. 
Don't you feel your successor might face the risk of a major conflict, 
another September 11?
    The President. You know, it's interesting, I think that's always a 
threat. No question that there's an enemy out there that would still 
like to harm America and, I believe, other free nations. But what has 
changed is, one, we've got the pressure on Al Qaida. The very ones who 
attacked us are now on the defense. We're dismantling them. We're 
working hard to find them. Our intelligence is better; our intelligence 
sharing is better. But no question, it's still a dangerous world when it 
comes to that, and--but there's tools now in place--that we put in 
place, that will help the next President deal with the security issue.
    And in terms of the economy, yes, look, economies go up and down, 
and right now it's a difficult period for all of us. Energy prices are 
high. Food prices are high. In our country, we've got a mortgage issue. 
But I do believe that we'll come out of this, and we'll come out of it 
stronger. And it's just that--it's what happens in free markets.

Middle East Peace Process

    Mr. Malard. Israel-Palestinian conflict is the cancer of all evils 
in Middle East. Your predecessors tried to get a solution; you tried to 
get a solution. But it seems that

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the two sides don't want to make the necessary concessions and political 
sacrifices. So does that mean that the tragedy--I don't say ``the 
show''--but the tragedy goes on?
    The President. I don't--[laughter]--that's a good way of putting it. 
I don't think so. I think they'll come to--first of all, I'm the first 
President to have articulated two states, because I believe it's in the 
interest of the Palestinians to have a state of their own that is whole, 
that doesn't look like Swiss cheese. And I firmly believe it's in 
Israel's interest to have a state, a democratic state, as a neighbor.
    I know these leaders well, Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas. I know 
they're committed to working out the differences on a variety of issues, 
such as what the borders look like, the refugee issue, security issues. 
I was confident when I went to the Middle East last time that there's 
still that desire to get something done. I feel--still feel good about 
it.
    Obviously, the politics in Israel is a little different right now. 
But nevertheless, in my visit with Prime Minister Olmert at the Oval Office recently, he understands the 
importance of reaching an agreement with President Abbas on what the state looks like and how to deal with 
these very difficult issues.
    Condi is going to go during the 
European trip--is going to go back to the Middle East and continue to 
work on it. And I'm very hopeful that we can get that vision defined.

Iran

    Mr. Malard. Iranian President Ahmadi-nejad is gaining influence in 
Iraq, in Lebanon with Hizballah, no doubt. He doesn't show any sign of 
flexibility----
    The President. Yes.
    Mr. Malard. ----on nuclear--on his nuclear program. Mr. President, 
is there any space left still for discussion with him?
    The President. Well, there will be definitely space for discussion 
when he verifiably suspends his 
enrichment program. First of all, I disagree with the premise that he is 
succeeding in Iraq. Quite the contrary. Iraq is becoming a democracy, a 
functioning democracy. They understand Iranian influence is 
destabilizing. Obviously, there is some influence inside of Iraq, but--
Iranian influence inside Iraq--but it's less than it has been and will 
continue to lessen, in my judgment, as its economy and as its political 
society begins to develop.
    The--therefore, in speaking with my friend President 
Sarkozy or any other European leaders, we've 
still got to continue to send that message to the Iranian leadership 
that you're isolated; you'll continue to get pressured unless you 
verifiably suspend your enrichment program. And the reason why that's 
important to continue the pressure on is that if they can enrich, they 
could easily transfer that knowledge to a weapons program, which would 
destabilize the Middle East.
    Mr. Malard. There's no military option in the air?
    The President. Yes, it's still there. Absolutely it's got to be on 
the table. But, of course, I've always said to the American people, we 
want to solve this problem diplomatically, and we're going to work to 
solve it diplomatically. But the Iranians have got to understand all 
options are on the table.

U.S. Foreign Policy

    Mr. Malard. When you see the big push of China, India, Russia on the 
international stage today, do you think that in 10 years from now, 
America will still be the superpower of the world?
    The President. You know, I--that's an interesting question. I think 
that--I would rather define us as a very influential nation that is 
willing to work with others to achieve common objectives. You mentioned 
those three nations, and my approach has been to have strong bilateral 
relations with all three. We've got strong bilateral relations with 
China, even though we differ

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on issues. I've had strong bilateral relations with Russia, a lot of it 
having to do with my personal relationship with Vladimir Putin. We've had our differences, but nevertheless, we 
found a lot of common ground to work together on, including Iran. And in 
India, I've changed the relationship between India and the United States 
in a way that we're partners as opposed to, you know, being 
antagonistic.
    And therefore, if the United States is active diplomatically in 
maintaining good bilateral relations with these countries, I think we'll 
still be in a position to use our influence for the common good. And 
these relationships don't have to be antagonistic. They can be--I've 
worked hard to get to know these leaders individually so that we can be 
able to discuss matters, delicate matters, in open and honest ways 
without rupturing relations. And I hope it serves as a go-by for future 
Presidents, that you can have disagreements, but you don't have to have 
this kind of zero-sum attitude about life.

2008 Presidential Election

    Mr. Malard. Last two short questions. I don't want to put you in 
trouble, interfering in American elections. But today, do you have the 
feeling that the barriers of--and the game is not over, far from being 
over, I know--but do you think the barriers have fallen down, to have a 
potential black citizen to become President of the United States?
    The President. You know, look, I--my attitude about that is I think 
it's a good statement about American democracy that a major political 
party would nominate Senator Obama. Now that 
that process has ended, the fundamental question is, who can be the best 
President? That's the question.
    And I'm obviously for John McCain. I think 
he'll be a really good President. And the American people will make that 
decision. And it's going to be up to each person to be able to describe 
how they're going to handle the pressures of the job, how they'll be 
making decisions, what principles they'll be standing on, because this 
is a job--that I'm sure you can imagine--where there's all kinds of 
pressures. And if you don't believe something in your soul, if you don't 
stand on principle and you're on shifting ground, you'll be very 
unpredictable. And the world doesn't need unpredictability, it needs 
predictability out of the United States.

France-U.S. Relations

    Mr. Malard. Last point, Mr. President. You and President Sarkozy put 
on the right track the Franco-U.S. relationship. We were a bit of 
trouble between you and President Jacques Chirac. With your next 
successor, whoever it is, do you think it will go on very well between 
France and United States?
    The President. I do. Look, France and the United States have had a 
fabulous history together. And I remind my friends that it was the 
French that stood strong with the American patriots in the Revolutionary 
War. It was the French that determined the balance of power when it came 
to whether or not the United States would even be the United States of 
America, an independent republic.
    And we've had a great relationship. And of course, we've had our 
differences, but that's okay. There have been differences throughout our 
history. The fundamental question is, do we understand there are--common 
values unite us? And we do. The French love freedom and human rights and 
human decency, and so do Americans. And so the relationship--and the--
plus, there's a lot of personal relationship, a lot of friendship 
between individuals here in our country and French citizens that make 
it--there's no question in my mind, we'll have good relations with the 
French.
    Q. Mr. President, I want to thank you very much, and I wish you the 
very best.
    The President. Well, thank you, sir. I'm looking forward to going to 
beautiful Paris.

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    Q. Great to see you again.
    The President. Thank you, sir. Good to see you.

Note: The interview was taped at 10:39 a.m. in the Map Room at the White 
House for later broadcast. In his remarks, the President referred to 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel; President Mahmoud Abbas of the 
Palestinian Authority; President Nicolas Sarkozy of France; Prime 
Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, in his former capacity as the 
President of Russia; Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama; and 
Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. Mr. Malard referred to 
former President Jacques Chirac of France. The transcript was released 
by the Office of the Press Secretary on June 12.