[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 45, Number 2 (Monday, January 19, 2009)]
[Pages 55-65]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference

January 12, 2009

    The President. Thank you. Tapper [Jake Tapper, ABC News]. We have 
been through a lot together. As I look through the room, I see Jake, 
Mike [Mike Emanuel, FOX News], Herman [Ken Herman, Cox News], Ann 
Compton [ABC News]. Just seemed like yesterday that I was on the 
campaign trail, and you were analyzing my speeches and my policies. And 
I see a lot of faces that travel with me around the world and to places 
like Afghanistan and Iraq and Africa. I see some new faces, which goes 
to show there's some turnover in this business.
    Through it all, it's been--I have respected you. Sometimes I didn't 
like the stories that you wrote or reported on. Sometimes you 
misunderestimated me. But always the relationship, I have felt, has been 
professional. And I appreciate it.
    I appreciate--I do appreciate working with you. My friends from--
say, ``What is it like to deal with the press corps?'' I said, ``These 
are just people that--trying to do the best they possibly can.''
    And so here at the last press conference, I'm interested in 
answering some of your questions. But mostly, I'm interested in saying 
thank you for the job.
    Ben [Ben Feller, Associated Press].

National Economy/President-Elect Barack Obama

    Q. Thank you for those comments, Mr. President. Here's a question. 
I'm wondering if you plan to ask Congress for the remaining $350 billion 
in bail money. And in terms of the timing, if you do that before you 
leave office, sir, are you motivated in part to make life a little 
easier for President-elect Obama?
    The President. I have talked to the President-elect about this 
subject. And I told him that if he felt that he needed the 350 billion, 
I would be willing to ask for it; in other words, if he felt like it 
needed to happen on my watch.
    The best course of action, of course, is to convince enough Members 
of the Senate to vote positively for the request. And, you know, that's 
all I can share with you, because that's all I know.
    Q. So you haven't made the request yet?
    The President. Well, he hasn't asked me to make the request yet. And 
I don't intend to make the request unless he specifically asks me to 
make it.
    He is--you know, I've had my third conversation with him, and I 
genuinely mean what I say. I wish him all the very best. I have found 
him to be a very smart and engaging person. And that lunch the other day 
was interesting--to have two guys who are nearly 85, two 62-year-olders, 
and a 47-year-old--so kind of the classic generational statement.
    And one common area, in at least the four of us--we all had 
different circumstances and experiences, but one thing is we've all

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experienced what it means to assume the responsibility of the 
Presidency. And President-elect Obama is fixing to do that. And he'll 
get sworn in, and then they'll have the lunch and all the deal up there 
on Capitol Hill. And then he'll come back and go through the 
Inauguration, and then he'll walk in the Oval Office, and there will be 
a moment when the responsibilities of the President land squarely on his 
shoulders.
    Toby [Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters]. Yes, we'll get everybody here.

Situation in the Middle East/Middle East Peace Process

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Do you believe that the Gaza conflict 
will have ended by the time you leave office? Do you approve of the way 
that Israel has conducted it? And why were you unable to achieve the 
peace deal that you had sought?
    The President. Remind me of the three points, will you, because I'm 
getting----
    Q. Will it end----
    The President. ----I'm getting a little older.
    Q. Will it end by the time you leave office? Do you approve of 
Israel's conduct?
    The President. I hope so. I'm for a sustainable cease-fire. And a 
definition of a sustainable cease-fire is that Hamas stops firing 
rockets into Israel. And there will not be a sustainable cease-fire if 
they continue firing rockets. I happen to believe the choice is Hamas's 
to make. And we believe that the best way to ensure that there is a 
sustainable cease-fire is to work with Egypt to stop the smuggling of 
arms into the Gaza that enables Hamas to continue to fire rockets. And 
so countries that supply weapons to Hamas have got to stop. And the 
international community needs to continue to pressure them to stop 
providing weapons.
    Hamas, obviously, if they're interested in a sustainable cease-fire, 
needs to stop arming. And then, of course, countries contingent to the 
Gaza need to work to stop the smuggling. And it's a difficult task. I 
mean, there's tunnels and, you know, great opportunities for people who 
want to continue to try to disrupt democracy to provide the weapons to 
do so.
    The second part of your question, please, ma'am?
    Q. Do you approve of the Israeli conduct in this?
    The President. I think Israel has a right to defend herself. 
Obviously, in any of these kinds of situations, I would hope that she 
would continue to be mindful of innocent folks, and that they help, you 
know, expedite the delivery of humanitarian aid.
    And third, why haven't we achieved peace?
    Q.  Why were you unable to----
    The President. That's a good question. It's been a long time since 
they've had peace in the Middle East. Step one is to have a vision for 
what peace would look like. And in 2002, on the steps of the Rose 
Garden, I gave a speech about a two-state solution: two states, two 
democracies living side by side in peace. And we have worked hard to 
advance that idea. First thing is to convince all parties that the two 
states were necessary for peace.
    And one thing that's happened is, is that most people in the Middle 
East now accept the two-state solution as the best way for peace. Most 
Palestinians want their own state, and most Israelis understand there 
needs to be a democracy on their border in order for there to be long-
lasting peace.
    The challenge, of course, has been to lay out the conditions so that 
a peaceful state can emerge; in other words, helping the Palestinians in 
the West Bank develop security forces, which we have worked hard to do 
over the past years. And those security forces are now becoming more 
efficient, and Prime Minister Fayyad is using them effectively. The 
challenge is to develop--help the Palestinians develop a democracy, I 
mean, and a vibrant economy in their--that will help lead to democracy.
    And the challenge, of course, is always complicated by the fact that 
people are willing to murder to stop the advance of freedom. And so the 
Hamas, or for that matter Al Qaida, or other extremist groups, are 
willing to use violence to prevent free states from emerging. And that's 
the big challenge.
    And so the answer is, will this ever happen? I think it will. And I 
know we have advanced the process.

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    Yes, Suzanne [Suzanne Malveaux, Cable News Network]. I finally got 
your name right, after how many years? 6 years?

War on Terror

    Q. Eight years. [Laughter]
    The President. Eight years. You used to be known as ``Suz-anne.'' 
Now you're ``Suz-ahn.''
    Q. ``Suz-ahn.'' Thank you. [Laughter]
    The President. I'm ``Jawdg.'' [Laughter]
    Q. In your 2002 State of the Union Address, you identified U.S. 
threats as an axis of evil: Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. Iraq is 
relatively calm; North Korea, no longer on the terrorist threat list. 
How would you define, if, in fact, there is still an axis of evil? And 
what is the greatest and most urgent threat when it comes to security 
that Barack Obama has to deal with?
    The President. The most urgent threat that he'll have to deal with, 
and other Presidents after him will have to deal with, is an attack on 
our homeland. You know, I wish I could report that's not the case, but 
there's still an enemy out there that would like to inflict damage on 
America--Americans. And that will be the major threat.
    North Korea is still a problem. There is a debate in the intel 
community about how big a problem they are. But one of my concerns is 
that there might be a highly enriched uranium program. And therefore, it 
is really important that out of the six-party talks comes a strong 
verification regime. In other words, in order to advance our relations 
with North Korea, the North Korean Government must honor the commitments 
it made to allow for strong verification measures to be in place, to 
ensure that they don't develop a highly enriched uranium program, for 
example.
    So they're still dangerous, and Iran is still dangerous.
    Yes.

The Republican Party

    Q. You said in an interview earlier this weekend, one of these, I 
guess, exit interviews, that----
    The President. This is the ultimate exit interview.
    Q. ----that you think the Republican Party needs to be more 
inclusive. Who needs to hear that message inside the Republican Party?
    The President. Yes. You see, I am concerned that, in the wake of the 
defeat, that the temptation will be to look inward and to say, well, 
here's a litmus test you must adhere to.
    This party will come back. And--but the party's message has got to 
be that different points of view are included in the party. And take, 
for example, the immigration debate. That's obviously a highly 
contentious issue. And the problem with the outcome of the initial round 
of the debate was that some people said, ``Well, Republicans don't like 
immigrants.'' Now, that may be fair or unfair, but that's what--that's 
the image that came out.
    And, you know, if the image is we don't like immigrants, then 
there's probably somebody else out there saying, ``Well, if they don't 
like the immigrants, they probably don't like me as well.'' And so my 
point was, is that our party has got to be compassionate and 
broadminded.
    I remember the 1964 elections. My dad happened to be running for the 
United States Senate then and, you know, got landslided with the Johnson 
landslide in the State of Texas. But it wasn't just George Bush who got 
defeated; the Republican Party was pretty well decimated at the time. At 
least that's what they--well, I think that's how the pundits viewed it. 
And then '66, there was a resurgence. And the same thing can happen this 
time, but we just got to make sure our message is broad-gauged and 
compassionate: That we care about people's lives, and we've got a plan 
to help them improve their lives.
    Jake, yes. How you doing?

The President's Record

    Q. I'm good. How you doing, sir?
    The President. So what have you been doing since 2000--never mind. 
[Laughter]
    Q. Working my way to this chair.
    The President. So are you going to be here for President Obama?
    Q. I will. I will.
    The President. That's a pretty cool job.
    Q. It's not bad.

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    The President. Yes. [Laughter]
    Q. Yours might be better.
    The President. Yes--what, retirement? [Laughter]
    Q. In the past, when you've been asked to address bad poll numbers 
or your unpopularity, you've said that history will judge that you did 
the right thing, that you thought you did the right thing. But without 
getting into your motives or your goals, I think a lot of people, 
including Republicans, including some members of your own 
administration, have been disappointed at the execution of some of your 
ideals, whether Iraq or Katrina or the economy. What would your closing 
message be to the American people about the execution of these goals?
    The President. Well, first of all, hard things don't happen 
overnight, Jake. And when the history of Iraq is written, historians 
will analyze, for example, the decision on the surge. The situation 
was--looked like it was going fine, and then violence for a period of 
time began to throw the progress of Iraq into doubt. And rather than 
accepting the status quo and saying, ``Oh, it's not worth it,'' or ``The 
politics makes it difficult,'' or, you know, ``The party may end up 
being--you know, not doing well in the elections because of the violence 
in Iraq,'' I decided to do something about it, and sent 30,000 troops in 
as opposed to withdrawing.
    And so that part of history is certain, and the situation did 
change. Now, the question is, in the long run, will this democracy 
survive? And that's going to be the challenge for future Presidents.
    In terms of the economy, look, I inherited a recession; I am ending 
on a recession. In the meantime there were 52 months of uninterrupted 
job growth. And I defended tax cuts when I campaigned. I helped 
implement tax cuts when I was President, and I will defend them after my 
Presidency as the right course of action. And there's a fundamental 
philosophical debate about tax cuts. Who best can spend your money, the 
Government or you? And I have always sided with the people on that 
issue.
    Now, obviously, these are very difficult economic times. When people 
analyze the situation, there will be--this problem started before my 
Presidency; it obviously took place during my Presidency. The question 
facing a President is not when the problem started, but what did you do 
about it when you recognized the problem? And I readily concede I 
chunked aside some of my free market principles when I was told by chief 
economic advisers that the situation we were facing could be worse than 
the Great Depression.
    So I've told some of my friends who said--you know, who have taken 
an ideological position on this issue--why did you do what you did? I 
said, well, if you were sitting there and heard that the depression 
could be greater than the Great Depression, I hope you would act too, 
which I did. And we've taken extraordinary measures to deal with the 
frozen credit markets, which have affected the economy. Credit spreads 
are beginning to shrink; lending is just beginning to pick up. The 
actions we have taken, I believe, have helped thaw the credit markets, 
which is the first step toward recovery.
    And so, yes, look, there's plenty of critics in this business; I 
understand that. And I thank you for giving me a chance to defend a 
record that I am going to continue to defend, because I think it's a 
good, strong record.
    Jim [Jim Axelrod, CBS News].

The President's Critics

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. I'd also like to ask you about your 
critics.
    The President. Sure. You know any? [Laughter]
    Q. Well, a couple years ago, Charles Krauthammer, columnist and 
Harvard-trained psychiatrist, coined a term, ``Bush derangement 
syndrome,'' to talk about your critics who disagreed with you most 
passionately--not just your policies, but seemed to take an animosity 
towards you. I'm just wondering, as you look back, why you think you 
engendered such passionate criticism, animosity, and do you have any 
message specifically to those--to that particular part of the spectrum 
of your critics?
    The President. You know, most people I see, you know, when I'm 
moving around the country, for example, they're not angry. And they're 
not hostile people. And they--well, they say, you never meet people who 
disagree; that's just not true. I've met a lot of

[[Page 59]]

people who don't agree with the decisions I make. But they have been 
civil in their discourse.
    And so, I view those who get angry and yell and say bad things and, 
you know, all that kind of stuff, it's just a very few people in the 
country. I don't know why they get angry. I don't know why they get 
hostile. It's not the first time, however, in history that people have 
expressed themselves in sometimes undignified ways. I've been reading, 
you know, a lot about Abraham Lincoln during my Presidency, and there 
was some pretty harsh discord when it came to the 16th President, just 
like there's been harsh discord for the 30--43d President.
    You know, Presidents can try to avoid hard decisions, and therefore, 
avoid controversy. That's just not my nature. I'm the kind of person 
that, you know, is willing to take on hard tasks, and in times of war 
people get emotional; I understand that. Never really, you know, spent 
that much time, frankly, worrying about the loud voices. I, of course, 
hear them, but they didn't affect my policy, nor did they affect how I 
made decisions.
    You know, the President-elect Obama will find this too. He'll get in 
the Oval Office, and there will be a lot of people that are real 
critical and harsh. And he'll be disappointed at times by the tone of 
the rhetoric. And he's going to have to do what he thinks is right, Jim. 
And if you don't, then I don't see how you can live with yourself. I 
don't see how I can get back home in Texas and look in the mirror and be 
proud of what I see if I allowed the loud voices, the loud critics, to 
prevent me from doing what I thought was necessary to protect this 
country.
    Mike.

President-Elect Obama/National Economy

    Q. Mr. President, thank you very much. Since your philosophy is so 
different from President-elect Obama's, what concerns you the most about 
what he may attempt to do?
    The President. You know, Michael, I'm not going to speculate about 
what he's going to do. It's going to be--you know, he's going to get in 
the Oval Office, he's going to analyze each situation, and he's going to 
make the decisions that he think is necessary.
    And the other thing is, when I get out of here, I'm getting off the 
stage. I believe there ought to be, you know, one person in the klieg 
lights at a time. And I've had my time in the klieg lights. You know, 
I'm confident, you know, you'll catch me opining on occasion, but I wish 
him all the best.
    And people say, ``Oh, you just--that's just a throwaway line.'' No, 
it's not a throwaway line. The stakes are high. There is an enemy that 
still is out there. You know, people can maybe try to write that off as, 
you know, he's trying to set something up. I'm telling you there's an 
enemy that would like to attack America--Americans again. There just is. 
That's the reality of the world. And I wish him all the very best.
    And of course, he's going to have his hands full with the economy. I 
understand. It's tough for a lot of working people out there. People are 
concerned about their economic future. You know, one of the very 
difficult parts of the decision I made on the financial crisis was to 
use hard-working people's money to help prevent there to be a crisis, 
and in so doing, some of that money went into Wall Street firms that 
caused the crisis in the first place. I wasn't kidding when I said Wall 
Street got drunk, and we got the hangover. And--but nevertheless, 
President-elect Obama will find the problems and the situations 
surrounding problems sometimes cause people to have to make decisions 
that they, you know, weren't initially comfortable with. And there was 
such a decision when it came to Wall Street.
    I mean, I had a lot of people--when I went out to Midland that 
time--say, ``What the heck are you doing, boy? Those people up East 
caused the problem.'' I said, ``I know, but if we hadn't worked to fix 
the problem, your situation would be worse.'' And anyway, I really do 
wish him all the best.
    Sheryl [Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times].

Presidential Pardons

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, in recent days, there's 
been a fair amount of discussion in legal circles about whether or not 
you might give preemptive

[[Page 60]]

pardons, pardons in advance, to officials of your administration who 
engaged in anything from harsh interrogation tactics to perhaps 
dismissing U.S. Attorneys. And I'd like to know, have you given any 
consideration to this? And are you planning on it?
    The President. I won't be discussing pardons here at this press 
conference.
    Q. Can I have a follow up?
    The President. Would you like to ask another question?
    Q. Yes, I would, sir. Thank you. Four years ago----
    The President. That's the spirit, isn't it? [Laughter]
    Q. I appreciate that.
    The President. Thank you. [Laughter]

Reflections on the President's Time in Office

    Q. Four years ago, you were asked if you had made any mistakes.
    The President. Yes.
    Q. And I'm not trying to play ``gotcha,'' but I wonder, when you 
look back over the long arc of your Presidency, do you think, in 
retrospect, that you have made any mistakes? And if so, what is the 
single biggest mistake that you may have made?
    The President. Gotcha. Hey, look, I have often said that history 
will look back and determine that which could have been done better, or, 
you know, mistakes I made. Clearly, putting a ``Mission Accomplished'' 
on a aircraft carrier was a mistake. It sent the wrong message. We were 
trying to say something differently, but nevertheless, it conveyed a 
different message. Obviously, some of my rhetoric has been a mistake.
    I've thought long and hard about Katrina--you know, could I have 
done something differently, like land Air Force One either in New 
Orleans or Baton Rouge. The problem with that and--is that law 
enforcement would have been pulled away from the mission. And then your 
questions, I suspect, would have been, ``How could you possibly have 
flown Air Force One into Baton Rouge, and police officers that were 
needed to expedite traffic out of New Orleans were taken off the task to 
look after you?''
    I believe that running the Social Security idea right after the '04 
elections was a mistake. I should have argued for immigration reform. 
And the reason why is, is that--you know, one of the lessons I learned 
as Governor of Texas, by the way, is legislative branches tend to be 
risk-adverse. In other words, sometimes legislatures have the tendency 
to ask, ``Why should I take on a hard task when a crisis is not 
imminent?'' And the crisis was not imminent for Social Security, as far 
as many Members of Congress was concerned.
    As an aside, one thing I proved is that you can actually campaign on 
the issue and get elected. In other words, I don't believe talking about 
Social Security is the third rail of American politics. I, matter of 
fact, think that in the future, not talking about how you intend to fix 
Social Security is going to be the third rail of American politics.
    And the--one thing about the Presidency is that you can make--only 
make decisions, you know, on the information at hand. You don't get to 
have information after you've made the decision. That's not the way it 
works. And you stand by your decisions, and you do your best to explain 
why you made the decisions you made.
    There have been disappointments. Abu Ghraib, obviously, was a huge 
disappointment during the Presidency. Not having weapons of mass 
destruction was a significant disappointment. I don't know if you want 
to call those mistakes or not, but they were--things didn't go according 
to plan, let's put it that way.
    And anyway, I think historians will look back, and they'll be able 
to have a better look at mistakes after some time has passed. I--along 
Jake's question, there is no such thing as short-term history. I don't 
think you can possibly get the full breadth of an administration until 
time has passed. Where does a President's--did a President's decisions 
have the impact that he thought they would, or he thought they would 
over time? Or how did this President compare to future Presidents, given 
a set of circumstances that may be similar or not similar? I mean, 
there's--it's just impossible to do. And I'm comfortable with that.
    Yes, Mike [Michael Abramowitz, Washington Post].

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America's Standing in the World

    Q. One of the major objectives that the incoming administration has 
talked frequently about is restoring America's moral standing in the 
world. And many of the allies of the new President--and I believe that 
the President-elect himself has talked about--how damage that Gitmo, 
that harsh interrogation tactics that they consider torture, how going 
to war in Iraq without a U.N. mandate have damaged America's moral 
standing in the world.
    The President. Yes.
    Q. I'm wondering, basically, what is your reaction to that? Do you 
think that is that something that America--that the next President needs 
to worry about?
    The President. I strongly disagree with the assessment that our 
moral standing has been damaged. It may be damaged amongst some of the 
elite, but people still understand America stands for freedom, that 
America is a country that provides such great hope.
    You go to Africa, you ask Africans about Americans' generosity and 
compassion; go to India, and ask about, you know, America's--their view 
of America; go to China and ask. Now, if--no question, parts of Europe 
have said that we shouldn't have gone to war in Iraq without a mandate, 
but those are a few countries. Most countries in Europe listened to what 
1441 said, which is disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.
    Most people take those words seriously. Now, some countries didn't, 
and even though they might have voted for the resolution. I disagree 
with this assessment that, you know, people view America in a dim light. 
I just don't agree with that. Now, I understand that Gitmo has created 
controversies. But when it came time for those countries that were 
criticizing America to take some of those detainees, they weren't 
willing to help out. And so, you know, I just disagree with the 
assessment, Mike.
    I'll remind--listen, I tell people, yes, you can try to be popular. 
In certain quarters in Europe, you can be popular by blaming every 
Middle Eastern problem on Israel, or you can be popular by joining the 
International Criminal Court. I guess I could have been popular by 
accepting Kyoto, which I felt was a flawed treaty and proposed something 
different and more constructive.
    And in terms of the decisions that I had made to protect the 
homeland, I wouldn't worry about popularity. What I would worry about is 
the Constitution of the United States and putting plans in place that 
makes it easier to find out what the enemy is thinking, because all 
these debates will matter not if there's another attack on the homeland. 
The question won't be, you know, were you critical of this plan or not. 
The question is going to be, why didn't you do something?
    Do you remember what it was like right after September the 11th 
around here? In press conferences and opinion pieces and in stories--
that sometimes were news stories and sometimes opinion pieces--people 
were saying, ``How come they didn't see it? How come they didn't connect 
the dots?'' Do you remember what the environment was like in Washington? 
I do. When people were hauled up in front of Congress, and Members of 
Congress were asking questions about, ``How come you didn't know this, 
that, or the other?'' And then we start putting policy in place--legal 
policy in place to connect the dots, and all of a sudden people were 
saying, ``How come you're connecting the dots?''
    And so, Mike, I've heard all that. I've heard all that. My view is, 
is that most people around the world, they respect America. And some of 
them doesn't like me, I understand that, some of the writers and the, 
you know, opiners and all that. That's fine; that's part of the deal. 
But I'm more concerned about the country and our--how people view the 
United States. They view us as strong, compassionate people who care 
deeply about the universality of freedom.
    Roger [Roger Runningen, Bloomberg News].

Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)/National Economy

    Q. Thank you. Mr. President, you spoke a moment ago about using 
taxpayers' money for the TARP program.
    The President. Yes, I did.
    Q. The first $350 billion is out the door; it's been spent. Are you 
satisfied that it's been spent wisely? And for the second 350 that's 
under consideration, do you think--are you

[[Page 62]]

supportive of Congress putting some restrictions on it?
    The President. I'm supportive of the President-elect working out a 
plan with Congress that best suits him--and Congress. That's what he's 
going to have to do. He's going to have to go up there, and he's going 
to have to make his case as to why the 350 [billion] * is necessary. And 
he knows that. This is nothing new.
    * White House correction.
    And in terms of the first 350 [billion], * I am pleased with this 
aspect of the expenditure, and that is that the financial markets are 
beginning to thaw. In the fall, I was concerned that the credit freeze 
would cause us to be headed toward a depression greater than the Great 
Depression. That's what I was told, if we didn't move. And so therefore, 
we have moved aggressively.
    And by the way, it just wasn't with the TARP. If you think about 
AIG, Fannie and Freddie, a lot of the decisions that were made in this 
administration are very aggressive decisions, all aiming at preventing 
the financial system from cratering.

President-Elect Obama/The Presidency

    Q. Mr. President, you spoke of the moment that the responsibility of 
the office would hit Barack Obama. The world is a far different place 
than it was when it hit you. When do you think he's going to feel the 
full impact? And what, if anything, have you and the other Presidents 
shared with him about the effects of the sometimes isolation, the so-
called bubble of the office?
    The President. Yes, that's a great question. He will feel the 
effects the minute he walks in the Oval Office. At least, that's when I 
felt. I don't know when he's going--he may feel it the minute he's--gets 
sworn in. And the minute I got sworn in, I started thinking about the 
speech. [Laughter] And so--but he's a better speechmaker than me, so 
he'll be able to--I don't know how he's going to feel. All I know is 
he's going to feel it. There will be a moment when he feels it.
    I have never felt isolated, and I don't think he will. One reason he 
won't feel isolated is because he's got a fabulous family, and he cares 
a lot about his family. That's evident from my discussions with him. 
He'll be--he's a 45-second commute away from a great wife and two little 
girls that love him dearly.
    I believe this--the phrase ``burdens of the office'' is overstated. 
You know, it's kind of like, why me? Oh, the burdens, you know. Why did 
the financial collapse have to happen on my watch? It's just--it's 
pathetic, isn't it, self-pity? And I don't believe that President-elect 
Obama will be full of self-pity. He will find--you know, your--the 
people that don't like you, the critics, they're pretty predictable. 
Sometimes the biggest disappointments will come from your so-called 
friends. And there will be disappointments, I promise you. He'll be 
disappointed. On the other hand, the job is so exciting and so profound 
that the disappointments are--will be clearly, you know, a minor 
irritant compared to the----
    Q. So it was never the ``loneliest office in the world'' for you?
    The President. No, not for me. We had a--people--we--I had a 
fabulous team around me of highly dedicated, smart, capable people, and 
we had fun. I tell people that, you know, some days happy, some days not 
so happy; every day has been joyous. And people, they say, ``I just 
don't believe it to be the case.'' Well, it is the case. Even in the 
darkest moments of Iraq, you know, there was--and every day when I was 
reading the reports about soldiers losing their lives, no question, 
there was a lot of emotion. But also there was times where we could be 
light-hearted and support each other.
    And I built a team of really capable people who were there not to 
serve me or there to serve the Republicans, they were there to serve the 
country. And President-elect Obama will find, as he makes these tough 
calls and tough decisions, that he'll be supported by a lot of really 
good people that care about the country as well.
    John [John McKinnon, Wall Street Journal].

Trade

    Q. You've talked a lot about your concerns over the rise of 
protectionism in the current----
    The President. Yes.

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    Q. ----economic environment. What do you think the future holds for 
that? Do you think the trend is a good one or a bad one?
    The President. I hope the trend is bad against protectionism. A 
disappointment--not a mistake, but a disappointment--was not getting the 
three trade bills out of Congress on Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. 
That was a disappointment. I actually thought we had a shot at one time, 
and then I was disappointed that they didn't move out of the House.
    And I am concerned about protectionism. In tough economic times, the 
temptation is to say, well, let's just throw up barriers and protect our 
own and not compete. That was the sentiment, by the way, that was in 
place during decent economic times. After all, we got CAFTA out of the 
Congress by one vote. And it would be a huge mistake if we become a 
protectionist nation.
    And that might be a good thing for the Bush Center to do at SMU, is 
to remind people about the benefits of free and fair trade: benefits for 
our own workers, benefits for workers overseas, and benefits when it 
comes to promoting development and helping lift people out of poverty, 
in particularly, third world countries. The best way to enhance economic 
growth in a third world country and to give people a chance to realize a 
better future is through trade. It's been proven; it's a fact. And I'm 
hopeful that the country doesn't slip into protectionist policy.
    April [April Ryan, American Urban Radio Networks], yes, ma'am.

Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina/Race Relations in America

    Q. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. Yes. You were sound asleep back there, so I decided--
[laughter]----
    Q. No, I wasn't. There was a whole clear row before me. I thought 
you were going to go there first. But either way, thanks for the 
surprise.
    Mr. President, on New Orleans, you basically talked about a moment 
ago about the photo opportunity. But let's talk about what you could 
have done to change the situation for the city of New Orleans to be 
further along in reconstruction than where it is now. And also, when you 
came--or began to run for the Oval Office about 9 years ago or so, the 
James Byrd dragging death was residue on your campaign. And now at this 
time, 2009, we have the first black President. Could you tell us what 
you have seen on the issues of race, as you see it from the Oval Office?
    The President. Sure, thanks. First of all, we did get the $121 
billion, more or less, passed, and it's now being spent. Secondly, the 
school system is improving dramatically. Thirdly, people are beginning 
to move back into homes. This storm was a devastating storm, April, that 
required a lot of energy, a lot of focus, and a lot of resources to get 
New Orleans up and running.
    And has the reconstruction been perfect? No. Have things happened 
fairly quickly? Absolutely. And is there more to be done? You bet there 
is.
    Q. What more needs to be done?
    The President. Well, more people need to get in their houses. More 
people need to have their own home there. But the systems are in place 
to continue the reconstruction of New Orleans.
    People said, well, the Federal response was slow. Don't tell me the 
Federal response was slow when there was 30,000 people pulled off roofs 
right after the storm passed. I remember going to see those helicopter 
drivers, Coast Guard drivers, to thank them for their courageous efforts 
to rescue people off roofs. Thirty thousand people were pulled off roofs 
right after the storm moved through. That's a pretty quick response.
    Could things have been done better? Absolutely. Absolutely. But when 
I hear people say, the Federal response was slow, then what are they 
going to say to those chopper drivers or the 30,000 that got pulled off 
the roofs?
    The other part of the--look, I was affected by TV after the 
elections, when I saw people saying, ``I never thought I would see the 
day that a black person would be elected President.'' And a lot of the 
people had tears streaming down their cheeks when they said it. And so I 
am--I consider myself fortunate to have a front-row seat on what is 
going to

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be an historic moment for the country. President-elect Obama's election 
does speak volumes about how far this country has come when it comes to 
racial relations. But there's still work to do. There's always going to 
be work to do to deal with people's hearts.
    And so I'm looking forward to it, really am. I think it's going to 
be an amazing moment.
    Michael Allen [Politico]. Yes, Michael Allen.

Post-Presidency Agenda

    Q. Mr. President----
    The President. Would be you.
    Q. Mr. President, often Presidents go--leave here; they say they're 
going to decompress, and then pretty soon they're right back in their 
office. I wonder how quickly you think you're going to be back at it, 
whether it's writing your book, whether it's speaking, whether it's 
traveling, whether it's overseas----
    The President. You know, Mike, I don't know. Probably the next day. 
I'm a type A personality, you know. I just can't envision myself, you 
know, the big straw hat and Hawaiian shirt sitting on some beach. 
[Laughter]
    Q. No one else can either.
    The President. So--[laughter]. Particularly, since I quit drinking. 
Anyway, so I predict to you that--first of all, I'm not sure what to 
expect. For the last 8 years, I have had a national security briefing 
every day but Sunday. And when you get a national security briefing, it 
is a reminder of the responsibilities of the job. It's just a daily 
reminder about what may or may not happen.
    The interesting thing about this job, by the way, is it's one thing 
to deal with the expected, what you anticipate; the real challenge is to 
be in a position to deal with the unexpected. And that's why those intel 
briefings are so important, because there is an awareness in the 
briefings by the analyst to try to help anticipate problems. And of 
course, you hope they don't arise, but you better be prepared when they 
do.
    And that in itself creates a--you know, gets your attention, when 
you start thinking about what could happen. And the key there, of 
course, is that--to take these different analyses seriously, and then 
have a structure so that your team will be in a position to analyze and 
then to lay out potential avenues for the President--from which the 
President can choose.
    I say all that because that's--this has been--this notion about 
being briefed and thinking about this issue or that issue has been just 
a part of my life for 8 years. People say, well, there you are in 
Crawford on vacation. You never escape the Presidency. It travels with 
you everywhere you go. And there's not a moment where you don't think 
about being President, unless you're riding mountain bikes as hard as 
you possibly can, trying to forget for the moment.
    And so I wake up in Crawford Tuesday morning--I mean, Wednesday 
morning, and I suspect I'll make Laura coffee and go get it for her. And 
it's going to be a different feeling. And I can't--it's kind of like--
I'll report back after I feel it.
    Last question. Ann, since you've been there from day one.

The Atmosphere in Washington, DC/Cooperation With Congress

    Q. Well, thank you, and I wanted to ask you about day one. You 
arrived here wanting to be a uniter, not a divider. Do you think Barack 
Obama can be a uniter, not a divider? Or is, with the challenges for any 
President and the unpopular decisions, is it impossible for any 
President to be uniter, not a divider?
    The President. I hope the tone is different for him than it has been 
for me. I am disappointed by the tone in Washington, DC. I have tried to 
do my part by not engaging in the name-calling and, by the way, needless 
name-calling. I have worked to be respectful of my opponents on 
different issues.
    There--we did find some good common ground on a variety of issues: 
No Child Left Behind, Medicare prescription drugs, PEPFAR, in the end, 
the funding for troops in Iraq. We--tax cuts, to a certain extent, got 
some bipartisan votes on them. There had been areas where we were able 
to work together. It's just the rhetoric got out of control at times----
    Q. Why?

[[Page 65]]

    The President. I don't know why. You need to ask those who used the 
words they used. As I say, it's not the first time it's ever happened, 
as I think I answered that to Jim there. It's happened throughout our 
history. And I would hope that, frankly, for the sake of the system 
itself, that if people disagree with the President-elect Obama, they 
treat him with respect. I worry about people looking at our system and 
saying, ``Why would I want to go up there and work in that kind of 
environment?''
    And so I wish him all the best. And no question, he'll be--there 
will be critics. And there should be. We all should welcome criticism on 
different policy; it's the great thing about our democracy; people have 
a chance to express themselves. I just hope the tone is respectful. He 
deserves it, and so does the country.
    It has been a honor to work with you. I meant what I said when I 
first got up here. I wish you all the very best. I wish you and your 
families all the best. God bless you.

Note: The President's news conference began at 9:17 a.m. in the James S. 
Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. In his remarks, he 
referred to former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and 
William J. Clinton; Prime Minister Salam Fayyad of the Palestinian 
Authority; and Michelle Obama, wife, and Malia and Natasha ``Sasha'' 
Obama, daughters, of President-elect Barack Obama.