WH Pool Report: Gonzales Gets Nod (Literally)
In this White House pool report, the POTUS tries to get rumors started:
On the Supreme Court: "The list is wide open which should create some good speculation here in Washington'' and [Bush] told the pool to "make sure'' to note that he was looking right at Gonzales when he said it.
Cute. What he didn't tell the pool reporter was that he was also playing footsie with Condi at the time.
Continued after the jump.
From: White House Press Releases
Date: Sep 6, 2005 12:26 PM
Subject: POOL REPORT #1, 9/6/05
Pool Report #1, 9/6/05
Cabinet meeting in cabinet room: Two things that may not be obvious from the transcript:
(1) When the President was asked about a possible woman nominee for the other Supreme Court vacancy, Secretary of State Rice smiled broadly.
(2) The President was sitting right across from Attorney General Al Gonzales when he playfully inserted his name into Supreme Court speculation.
The headlines: The President is sending Vice President Cheney to the hurricane region on Thursday to check out relief efforts and "remove any bureaucratic obstacles. There is "a strategy'' to get veterans, unemployment and Social Security benefits to evacuees.
The President didn't directly respond to a question about whether there is a need for a Katrina Commission but said, in response to an earlier question: "What I intend is to lead an investigation to find out what went right and what went wrong.''
On the Supreme Court: "The list is wide open which should create some good speculation here in Washington'' and he told the pool to "make sure'' to note that he was looking right at Gonzales when he said it.
Second event in Roosevelt Room -- no questions.
The President was surrounded by heads of voluntary groups -- including (at the end near us) Red Cross, Operation Blessing, Knights of Columbus, Volunteers of America, AME church. Key remark: "They people we are talking about are not refugees. They are Americans.''
Deborah Orin
New York Post