U.S. President George W. Bush smiles as he meets with the Senate Republican Conference at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington January 27, 2006. Seated next to Bush is Vice President Dick Cheney. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Posted on 01/27/2006 8:29:57 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - President Bush said Friday that Sen. Hillary Clinton, a potential candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, is "formidable," but he declined to speculate on which Republicans might run for the White House in 2008.
"This is an unusual year because this is the first time there hasn't been a kind of natural successor in the party," Bush said in an interview with "CBS Evening News."
"Two wide-open primaries with no sitting vice president running in either primary, so this is — I can't remember a time when it's been this open."
In a wide-ranging interview at the White House, Bush also took a hard-line stance against the Hamas party, which swept Palestinian elections on Wednesday. He said he'd emphasize the development of alternative fuels in his State of the Union address on Tuesday and shared his views on presidential powers.
On foreign issues, Bush said the United States would cut aid to the Palestinian government unless Hamas abolishes the militant arm of its party and stops calling for the destruction of Israel.
"If they don't, we won't deal with them," Bush told CBS anchor Bob Schieffer. "The aid packages won't go forward. That's their decision to make, but we won't be providing help to a government that wants to destroy our ally and friend."
He declined to predict whether the United States would still have large numbers of troops in Iraq when his successor takes office in 2009 but discussed the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Graib prison.
"We were disgraced," he said.
"I know it caused a lot of people that want to like us to question whether they should, and equally important it gave the enemy an incredible propaganda tool — no question," Bush said.
Bush defended his order permitting the National Security Agency to listen in on phone calls and read e-mails of Americans suspected of communicating with terrorists. Critics claim the program violates civil liberties and say the government is circumventing the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
"I have looked at this program from all angles, and my dilemma and my problem is I can't explain to you how it works in order to justify your question without telling the enemy what we are doing," he said.
Asked if he thinks there is anything a president cannot do if he considers it necessary in an emergency, Bush said he thought there were "clear red lines" a president cannot cross.
"I don't think a president can ... order torture, for example," Bush said about his presidential powers under the Constitution. "I don't think a president can order the assassination of a leader of another country with which we're not at war."
On a personal note, Bush said that after he leaves office, he may be interested in setting up a think tank where young scholars could write and think about freedom and liberty. He also said he didn't think he'd have become president had he not married his partner of 28 years, Laura Bush.
"I don't know what I'd have been like if I hadn't married her," Bush said.
Reuters thread posted earlier
Bush says 2008 race wide open, Clinton 'formidable' ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1566603/posts
U.S. President George W. Bush smiles as he meets with the Senate Republican Conference at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington January 27, 2006. Seated next to Bush is Vice President Dick Cheney. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
I can think of a few less flattering adjectives.....
'Formidable' as a Ham-ass supporter?
Most battleaxes are.
Formidable? He must have been referring to her calves.
I bet he can, too.
They don't call her "cankles" for nothin'
VP Cheney should advise Bush to call her Mrs. Bill Clinton from now on. Really.
AFP/Jim Watson
Oh, about this big, I'd say.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
That was the nicest f word he could use and still be Presidential...
LOL........boy, are they wrong.
We're already against her; we've been against her since BEFORE George W. Bush even thought about running for POTUS.
WE are DYING for her to run.
Hell, by myself, I've got 2000 bookmarks from 1992 to 2000, just ready to GO!
LOL!
Got to love that Bush-speak. :-)
The DUmmies are like Mikey--they hate everything.
Let's try this bowl of Welfare...
"They LIKES it! Hey DUmmies!"
Though beside the point of the post, I thought this was interesting. I am happy to see that the President is thinking along this line.
"Formidable" as in tree trunks for legs. She's tough.
Really she is Mrs. Bill Clinton formally. Address her as such.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.