I really enjoy the White House pool reports.
Wonkette (AKA, Ana Marie Cox) posts many of these for the public to enjoy, but the ones she selects make it to the top of her list if they have sexual innuendo or intrigue.
I’m going to share one pool report here written by Gannett News’ Greg Wright.
Just for fun, juxtapose what Greg Wright reports here:
Berlusconi praised Bush, saying he is “direct,” “straightforward,” “full of truth,” and says yes when he means yes and no when he means no. These qualities were likely a major factor in Bush’s reelection, Berlusconi said through an interpreter.
with this statement by Bush in the same meeting:
“The policy of my government is a strong dollar policy,” Bush said. “We believe that the market should make the decisions about the relationship between the dollar and the euro.”
Does anyone out there think America is pursuing a strong dollar policy?
It seems to me that America has a weak dollar policy that screws Europe, helps some U.S. exporters, but has China with an equally weak currency able to keep American consumers happy with cheap products — and has Japan scrambling for currency balance.
If Bush is telling the truth — then why aren’t any journalists or commentators challenging him on the fact that his so-called strong dollar policy is failing? Who is getting fired because we have a weak dollar and the president is not getting what he wants?
Up is down, black is white, lies are truth.
Here is the full passage:
TO: White House print reporters
FROM: Greg Wright, Gannett News Service
SUBJECT: Pool report on Bush-Berlusconi meeting
President Bush met for more than an hour Wednesday in the Oval office with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. They sat in armchairs in front of a fireplace festooned with pine boughs and pinecones for the holidays. The meeting began at about 11:25 a.m.
They discussed the weak U.S. dollar versus the European euro and other currencies, U.S. relations with Europe, peace between Israel and Palestine and peace and democracy in Iraq. Berlusconi praised Bush, saying he is “direct,” “straightforward,” “full of truth,” and says yes when he means yes and no when he means no. These qualities were likely a major factor in Bush’s reelection, Berlusconi said through an interpreter.
Bush said he would work with Congress on economic problems, including the huge budget deficit and under-funded social programs such as Social Security, to improve the U.S. economy. This in turn will send a positive signal to global currency markets, strengthening the dollar, Bush said.
Other countries should also buy more American products, which would erode the huge U.S. trade deficit and in turn also improve the dollar’s strength, Bush said.
“The policy of my government is a strong dollar policy,” Bush said. “We believe that the market should make the decisions about the relationship between the dollar and the euro.”
Bush explained to the Italian press through an interpreter that America’s elderly population is growing and there are not enough workers to pay into Social Security to ensure retirees get the benefits they were promised. He said consensus is growing in Congress to fix the funding problem. Bush has also proposed allowing some young people to invest part of the money they put into Social Security, but he would not go into further details, saying he will work with Republicans and Democrats on this issue.
Berlusconi, speaking through an interpreter, said the Italian government already approved reforms to keep its social security system solvent. “The problems with Social Security are common with all the Western World.”
“I’m convinced at my age you can keep working pretty well,” said Berlusconi, who is 68.
Bush joked back, “You look like a baby boomer to me.”
On Iraq, Bush warned Syria and Iran that “meddling” in the affairs of Iraq and trying to disrupt Jan. 30 elections is not in their best interests. The U.S. and its allies must also continue to work to ensure terrorists and money that supports them is not coming over the border into Iraq.
“We have made it very clear to the countries in the neighborhood, including the two you mentioned, that we expect there to be help in establishing a society in which people are able to elect their leaders,” Bush told a reporter.
Bush said by spring the United States an Italy should agree on a joint helicopter construction venture by spring.
Don’t you love the last line?
Let’s be sure to do a joint helicopter project next year? And have lunch. . .
Can you say: C O R R U P T I O N? I knew you could.
— Steve Clemons
