| 00:00:073 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Hello, everybody. I don't have anything to start off with, so -- |
| 00:00:1010 sec. |
Q, -
The stock market is down, the oil prices are up. I take it that this wasn't the outcome you would have wanted from the energy summit. Yes, things... |
| 00:00:2038 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Will attribute that to Bill Plante. (Laughter.) Look, look back to what we said going into the conference, which is that this is going to take a long... |
| 00:00:589 sec. |
Q, -
Wouldn't more supply in the short term help more quickly than long-term planning for oil that can't be gathered for another 10 years? |
| 00:01:0747 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
I think that the important thing to do in regards to the long-term planning is to send a signal to the market so that they know that this time the government... |
| 00:01:546 sec. |
Q, -
But the short-term problem is what seems to upset people as they go to fill their cars up every day. |
| 00:02:0037 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
We absolutely are sympathetic. We understand. Many of us are consumers, too. We know that this is actually having a larger impact and a disproportionate... |
| 00:02:371 sec. |
Q, -
It's going to be a long wait. |
| 00:02:382 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Well, that's what we've been saying for a while. |
| 00:02:4015 sec. |
Q, -
Dana, you're saying it's about supply and demand. But back in May when we were in Saudi Arabia, after the President met with King Abdallah and he said... |
| 00:02:556 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
I don't know, I was there on that trip and I don't remember necessarily that part of it. Maybe you could refresh my memory, because you've got it all... |
| 00:03:0116 sec. |
Q, -
Mr. Hadley did a gaggle where he said, what the Saudis are saying -- he said this in May -- "What the Saudis are saying is we can put more oil on the... |
| 00:03:171 min. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
One of the things that he -- I think that they were talking about is refining capacity, because there's different types of oil that come on. And I don't... |
| 00:04:278 sec. |
Q, -
But isn't it clear now that demand is a problem, when they were saying there really is not -- that there's not unmet demand, they were saying in May?... |
| 00:04:3515 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Well, I would say that we have always said, going back to anytime I've talked about this over the past several years, that the decrease of supply or... |
| 00:04:5015 sec. |
Q, -
And last thing. Senator Obama is saying speculation is a big part of this. The administration seems to reject that; Secretary Bodman over the weekend... |
| 00:05:0533 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
We believe the fundamental problem is the basic one of law -- the basic law of supply and demand. We do think that speculation could have impact on... |
| 00:05:3812 sec. |
Q, -
And a follow to that. Congress is actually perhaps considering legislation to set stricter limits, or even ban trading on energy futures in some markets.... |
| 00:05:5012 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
I think the best place for that discussion and that review is at the CFTC, and we'll let that independent agency look at it and then review any of their... |
| 00:06:0214 sec. |
Q, -
Dana, the leader of the opposition in Zimbabwe has abdicated his run for the presidency. I'm wondering, what is the response officially from the White... |
| 00:06:1660 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Absolutely. The United States is going to the U.N. Security Council today; we want the world to be speaking with one voice to condemn the violence and... |
| 00:07:1614 sec. |
Q, -
Dana, a follow to that. Are you -- is this administration looking at Mugabe as the legitimate President of Zimbabwe? And I'm asking that as the British... |
| 00:07:3044 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
I think you have to look at what Secretary Rice said this morning -- I'll just recap it here -- which is that the opposition clearly won that election... |
| 00:08:146 sec. |
Q, -
So the opposition leader did not formally, apparently, withdraw. |
| 00:08:202 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
That's right. |
| 00:08:226 sec. |
Q, -
So -- and the elections are still going to be held on Friday, so technically, he is still in the race -- |
| 00:08:2814 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
As I understand it, there is a technical step that would need to be taken for him to formally pull out of the race with a letter. But I think that he's... |
| 00:08:428 sec. |
Q, -
So you're saying basically your view, the White House view is that he's officially pulled out, whether he has formally -- |
| 00:08:5023 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
No, we'll have to see if he takes this next step in terms of a letter. In fact, he might have already done that; I don't know. I'm certainly, obviously,... |
| 00:09:1314 sec. |
Q, -
Dana, at the gaggle this morning you -- back on energy and politics -- you suggested the public should get behind the President's plan and the Republican... |
| 00:09:2748 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Well, it's not as easy a line to walk as I would like. Obviously you've heard the President; he's spoken himself, and I've said here that the President... |
| 00:10:1515 sec. |
Q, -
Well, this is an issue that, as you probably know, this issue of campaigning at the podium affects press secretaries for every outgoing President, for... |
| 00:10:303 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Well, one, I think that you've seen me here -- I haven't done a lot of it in the past and -- |
| 00:10:331 sec. |
Q, -
Yes, but I'm asking if you anticipate -- |
| 00:10:3418 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
It's not necessarily -- look, I just answered a question about Senator Obama's position. And you know, I'll have to see how it goes. I don't -- I intend... |
| 00:10:529 sec. |
Q, -
Your predecessor, Tony, campaigned -- made campaign appearances and speeches for candidates, congressional candidates and so forth. Do you think you're... |
| 00:11:016 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
I've done a couple in the past, but I don't think I'm necessarily in as high a demand as Tony Snow was. (Laughter.) |
| 00:11:072 sec. |
Q, -
Don't sell yourself short. |
| 00:11:091 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Wendell. |
| 00:11:101 sec. |
Q, -
Can I follow April's question -- |
| 00:11:111 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Sure. |
| 00:11:1217 sec. |
Q, -
Secretary Rice said the Mugabe regime -- and this is a quote -- "cannot be consider legitimate in the absence of a run-off." Prime Minister Brown said,... |
| 00:11:2933 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
No, I don't believe so, and I believe Secretary Rice and David Miliband, the Foreign Minister for -- of the UK, are on the same page. And one of the... |
| 00:12:0210 sec. |
Q, -
And on African leaders expressing dismay, are you satisfied with the level of pressure that South Africa has placed on the Mugabe -- |
| 00:12:1221 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
The way I would put it is that we think that every leader could do more, because obviously this is a problem that is not just affecting one of its neighbors... |
| 00:12:336 sec. |
Q, -
Dana, is the United States preparing to remove North Korea from the terrorism list? |
| 00:12:3936 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Well, we'll -- what we've been waiting for is for North Korea to issue to the Chinese, as the chairman of the six-party talks, its complete and accurate... |
| 00:13:155 sec. |
Q, -
Do you have any reason to believe that they won't do it on -- by Thursday, as they -- |
| 00:13:2015 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Only based on past experience, that deadlines have been kicked down the road before. But I couldn't say either way whether or not they'll meet this... |
| 00:13:3512 sec. |
Q, -
To follow up on that, will you consider any declaration acceptable if it does not address the issue of North Korean cooperation on nuclear -- |
| 00:13:4721 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Well, I'll refer you to the State Department on that. Obviously, Secretary Rice spoke at length about this last week, and what we know is that there... |
| 00:14:087 sec. |
Q, -
But again, will this -- any declaration be acceptable if this issue is not addressed? |
| 00:14:155 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
What we want to see is a correct declaration and one that is verifiable, but I'm not going to prejudge it before we see it. April, again. |
| 00:14:2017 sec. |
Q, -
Yes, ma'am. Dana, back on the energy issue, you said we should not expect a short-term fix. Are you saying that in the next seven months, we shouldn't... |
| 00:14:3752 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
April, that's impossible for me to say. I think that anyone who would pretend to be able to predict the market from this podium would be foolhardy.... |
| 00:15:291 sec. |
Q, -
Dana? |
| 00:15:302 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
I'm going to go right over here. I'll come back over there. |
| 00:15:323 sec. |
Q, -
Dana, on the North Korea issue, have you set a date for six-party talks? |
| 00:15:3523 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Have I set a date for the six-party talks? Well, no, I don't think so. They obviously -- we talk regularly with all of our six-party members, and I... |
| 00:15:585 sec. |
Q, -
Dana, when did the North Koreans alert the administration that they intended to submit the declaration on Thursday? |
| 00:16:038 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
I think that this is a date that they -- that's been out there for a while. It's not anything that -- I didn't necessarily think of it as new because... |
| 00:16:111 sec. |
Q, -
So you don't know the time frame of the -- |
| 00:16:127 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
No, I don't. It had to have been within the last year, I guess. Maybe the last six months. Yes, Les. |
| 00:16:1915 sec. |
Q, -
Thank you, Dana. Two questions. The President believes that the First Amendment, freedom of speech and the press, should not be denied to radio and... |
| 00:16:342 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
That's correct. |
| 00:16:3635 sec. |
Q, -
That's correct. Republican congressman Mike Pence of Indiana has introduced the Broadcaster Freedom Act, which needs only 24 more signatures on a discharged... |
| 00:17:118 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
Well, I don't know if that's necessarily the case, but it sounds like you have some lobbying work to do up on Capitol Hill, so we should dispatch you... |
| 00:17:195 sec. |
Q, -
He's not allowed to lobby and hold a press pass at the same time, remind him. (Laughter.) Thank you very much. Thank you very much, CBS. (Laughter.) |
| 00:17:244 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
I'm going to go to Ed Henry. |
| 00:17:284 sec. |
Q, -
South Korea -- do you have any status report on whether the President plans to head to South Korea, to travel -- |
| 00:17:3225 sec. |
Perino, Dana - Press Secretary
I don't. We haven't announced the trip yet, but in regards to the South Korean deal with the -- regarding the beef issue, the U.S. Trade Representative... |
| 00:17:578 sec. |
Q, -
Thank you. |