[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 46 (Monday, November 17, 2003)]
[Pages 1588-1590]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With Judicial Nominees and an Exchange With 
Reporters

November 13, 2003

    The President. I have the job of nominating people to serve on the 
Federal benches. I have handled my duty in the right way by picking 
superb men and women to serve our country as Federal judges, people of 
integrity and honor, people of high intelligence, three of whom are with 
me today. Carolyn Kuhl, Janice Brown, Priscilla Owen really represent 
the best of America--superb, superb women.
    And yet, these three women are being denied a chance to serve on the 
bench because of ugly politics in the United States Senate. These folks 
deserve an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. If they get an up-or-
down vote on the Senate floor, they will be confirmed because the 
majority of justices believe they should serve. And yet a few Senators 
are playing politics. And it's wrong, and it's shameful, and it's 
hurting the system.
    I have told these three ladies I will stand with them until the 
bitter end because they're the absolute right pick for their respective 
positions. And the Senators who are playing politics with their 
nominations are acting shamefully. And I want to thank you all for being 
such stalwarts for justice and fairness and decency, and I appreciate 
you standing here.
    Carolyn Kuhl. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. Let me answer a couple quick--please.

Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, could you tell us your ideas about how you would 
like to see--speed up the transfer of power in Iraq? Are you interested 
in setting up, for example, an

[[Page 1589]]

interim government before a constitution is written?
    The President. What I'm interested in doing is working with 
Ambassador Bremer and the Governing Council to work on a plan that will 
encourage the Iraqis to assume more responsibility. Ambassador Bremer 
sat right here yesterday and talked to me about the Iraqis' desire to be 
more involved in the governance of their country. And that's a positive 
development because actually that's what we want. We want the Iraqis to 
be more involved in the governance of their country. And so Ambassador 
Bremer, with my instructions, is going back to talk to the Governing 
Council to develop a strategy. And he'll report back after he's 
consulted with the very people that we want to assume more 
responsibility.
    Yes.

Steel Tariffs

    Q. Mr. President----
    The President. You're in there, Stretch [David Gregory, NBC News].
    Q. What's your timetable for deciding on whether to lift the steel 
sanctions? And how far do you think the U.S. industry has gone now in 
restructuring toward----
    The President. Well, that's exactly what I'm reviewing now. Part of 
the--the decision was based upon the International Trade Commission's 
finding that our industry had been harmed, and therefore, I imposed some 
tariffs in order to allow for a restructuring of the industry. I'm in 
the process of reviewing the extent to which the industry has been 
restructured. I'm going to make a decision within a reasonable period of 
time.
    Q. Mr. President?
    The President. Yes, Stretch.
    Q. Thank you, sir.
    The President. Excuse me, I couldn't tell if you wanted to ask a 
question or not today. [Laughter]

Iraq

    Q. How worried----
    The President. Is this about the judges?
    Q. Yes, right.
    The President. Okay.
    Q. I would--if I had time, I would. What are you prepared to do 
about the fact and how worried are you about the fact that ordinary 
Iraqis appear to be more irritated with the presence of U.S. troops and 
more supportive of Iraqi insurgents?
    The President. Well, first of all, the goal of the terrorists, 
whether they be Ba'athists or mujahideen fighters or Al-Qaida-type 
fighters, is to create terror and fear amongst average Iraqis, is to 
create the conditions where people are just so fearful for their lives 
that they cannot think positively about freedom. That's their goal.
    Our goal, of course, is to continue to work with those Iraqi 
citizens who understand that freedom is a precious commodity, those who 
understand that there is a hopeful life possible in a part of the world 
where a lot of hope has been diminished in the past. And that's the 
struggle--that's the struggle. And we're going to prevail because, well, 
one, we got a good strategy to deal with these killers. Two, I believe 
by far the vast majority of Iraqis do understand the stakes and do want 
their children to grow up in a peaceful environment and do want their 
children going to a school and do want to be able to live a free life 
that is prosperous. That's what I believe. And I--recently, I was told 
by--for example, Bremer was telling me about a survey done by an 
American firm in Baghdad, for example, and it said that by far the vast 
majority of people understand that if America were to leave and the 
terrorists were to prevail in their desire to drive us out, the country 
would fall into chaos. And no one wants that, and so I'm confident we'll 
prevail in the long run. And I'm confident we're doing good work right 
now.
    Yes.
    Q. Mr. President, are you----

Judicial Nominations

    The President. Do you have a followup on the judges?
    Q. Yes, well, the Democrats say they have confirmed 98 percent of 
your judges----
    The President. Yes.
    Q. ----and by focusing on the few that they are opposing, that 
you're picking essentially an unfair fight.
    The President. Well, our circuits--circuit courts remain, in some 
cases, dangerously vacant. And here are three cases where people are 
being treated unfairly. My question is,

[[Page 1590]]

why won't they give these three ladies an up-or-down vote? Where's the 
justice? These are eminently qualified people. These are three women who 
are--represent the best of American jurisprudence. And why won't they 
let them come to the floor? If they're so fair, bring them up to a 
vote--today. Let these three nominees get onto the floor of the United 
States Senate for an up-or-down vote, and then I will listen to whether 
or not they're fair or not.
    Yes, last question, then I've got to go.

President's Upcoming Visit to the United Kingdom

    Q. Are you concerned, Mr. President, that the massive amount of 
protesters that are going to be in London next week will undercut your 
message of unity in Iraq?
    The President. I am so pleased to be going to a country which says 
that people are allowed to express their mind. That's fantastic. You 
know, freedom is a beautiful thing. And the fact that people are willing 
to come out and express themselves says I'm going to a great country.
    And secondly, I don't expect everybody in the world to agree with 
the positions I've taken. But certainly, those should agree with the 
goals of the United States, which is peace and freedom. You see, we 
believe that freedom is not America's gift to the world. We believe 
freedom is the Almighty's gift to everybody in the world. We believe 
free societies are peaceful societies. We believe in human justice and 
human dignity and human rights. We cry when we hear stories about people 
being tortured, women being raped in rape rooms. We weep when we 
discover mass graves of innocent Iraqis. We understand that tyranny is 
not the form of government that will bring hope and justice. And 
therefore, we're not only willing to defend our own security; we're also 
willing to defend the rights of others.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 8:30 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House, following a meeting with Carolyn Kuhl, nominee to be U.S. Circuit 
Judge for the Ninth Circuit; Janice Brown, nominee to be U.S. Circuit 
Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit; and Priscilla Owen, nominee 
to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit. In his remarks, he 
referred to L. Paul Bremer III, Presidential Envoy to Iraq.