[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 23 (Monday, June 16, 2008)]
[Pages 822-825]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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.

[[Page 823]]

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 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.

[[Page 824]]

    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 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 Elections

    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

[[Page 825]]

human decency, and so do Americans. And so the relationship--and 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.
    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 (Abu 
Mazen) of the Palestinian Authority; President Nicolas Sarkozy of 
France; Prime Minister Vladimir 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. This transcript 
was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on June 12.