A day in the life of President Bush (9/16/06): photos & news

WhiteHouse.gov & Yahoo News ^ | 9/16/06

[Wolfstar]

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President and First Lady are spending a quiet weekend prior to what will be another very busy week for them. The President will address the UN next week, while Mrs. Bush will also have a busy schedule while they are in New York.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, a big FR favorite, has added a new and very welcome aggressive touch to White House communications efforts. The White House website now prominently features a series of rebuttals to inaccurate media reports. Called "Setting the Record Straight," the site has three rebuttals to news reports last week. All three are important, so I've linked them here, beginning with the transcript of the most significant item:

Setting the Record Straight: JAG Leaders Say Common Article 3 Provisions Would Be "Helpful"

Incorrect media assertion: The New York Times reports that JAG leaders "would agree only to say that they could not find anything illegal about the specific issue of amending [Geneva Conventions] Common Article 3." (Kate Zernike, "Rebuff For Bush On Terror Trials In A Senate Test," The New York Times, 9/15/06).

White House rebuttal:

JAG Leaders Affirmatively Say The Administration's Common Article 3 Provisions Would Be "Helpful"

According to the JAG lawyers' letter: "Indeed, we think these provisions would be helpful to our fighting men and women at war on behalf of our country."

TEXT OF LETTER to Sen. John Warner and Rep. Duncan Hunter, 9/13/06:

"We do not object to Section 6 of the Administration proposal, which would clarify the obligations of the United States under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, and Section 7 of the Administration proposal, which would address crimes under the War Crimes Act. Indeed, we think these provisions would be helpful to our fighting men and women at war on behalf of our Country."
Signed:
Major General Scott Black, U.S. Army, Judge Advocate General
Major General Charles J. Dunlap, Jr., U.S. Air Force, Deputy Judge Advocate General
Rear Admiral Bruce Macdonald, U.S. Navy, Judge Advocate General
Brigadier General James C. Walker, Staff Judge Advocate to the U.S. Marine Corps
Colonel Ronald M. Reed, U.S. Air Force, Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

In an August 2 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Military JAG’s support bringing definition to Common Article 3.

SEN. FEINSTEIN: "Admiral MacDonald and Admiral Black -- excuse me, General Black -- you both speak about Common Article 3 in your written comments, the prohibition -- Admiral MacDonald -- you say 'Common Article 3's prohibition upon outrages (up)on personal dignity is not well defined.' How would you suggest we define it?"
GEN. BLACK: "In its current formulation, it's entirely too vague, and it puts -- as you mentioned before -- our service members at risk, our own service members at risk." (Committee On The Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 8/2/06)

GEN. RIVES: "We welcome congressional efforts to better define which 'outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment,' amount to serious breaches worthy [of] classification as felonies. Such efforts would serve our men and women fighting the global war on terrorism by providing clearly delineated limits…Congressional efforts to better define these terms for Common Article 3 purposes will provide needed clarity to the rules of conduct for our military forces." (Committee On The Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 8/2/06)

SEN. GRAHAM: "To the judge advocates, have you been consulted fairly extensively about military commissions and Common Article 3 by the administration?"
JAG GENERALS: (1) "Yes, sir, we have." (2) "Particularly of late, sir." (3) "Yes, sir." (Committee On The Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 8/2/06)

Now and Then: Editorials on the McCain Amendment
Newspaper editorials previously said the the Administration's Common Article 3 proposal would prohibit torture, but they now say it will permit torture.

The Rest of the Story: Iraq's Links to Al Qaeda
The Washington Post quotes the President without including the full context of his remarks distinguishing Al Qaeda from Saddam, and falsely reports that the CIA said Saddam did not have links to Al Qaeda.

GOVERNOR ANN RICHARDS FUNERAL: Former Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a Texan and close personal friend of President and Mrs. Bush, will attend the funeral services to be held for Governor Ann Richards at the University of Texas Frank Erwin Center on Monday, September 18, on behalf of President and Mrs. Bush. The first couple will be in New York for the UN General Assembly address and meetings. The White House released a statement that said: "As a lifelong Texan, Secretary Evans had the highest regard for the Governor, and he appreciated her tireless efforts on behalf of the state and her zest for life that endeared her to the entire country. The President regrets being unable to attend her funeral, and he and Mrs. Bush send their deepest condolences to the Governor's family."

Fans of Press Secretary Tony Snow will enjoy hearing the news that he has hired a new assistant. Tony Fratto, currently Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Treasury, will be coming over to the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Assistant Press Secretary, or Deputy Press Secretary [title to be determined], a week from Monday [i.e., 9/25/06].

THE WEEK AHEAD: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, President and Mrs. Bush will be in New York to participate in the 61st United Nations General Assembly and related events. In addition to the formal UN-related events, the President will meet bilaterally with several other world leaders during the visit. The Palestinian Authority issued a statement today that President Bush will meet with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas. However, the White House had not confirmed this meeting as of early evening today.

_ Sept. 18, the First Lady will be highlighting the importance of literacy for both individual and national growth by hosting the first White House Conference on Global Literacy. The conference will be held at the New York Public Library.

_ Sept. 19, President Bush will address the Plenary Session of the General Debate of the General Assembly. He will meet with Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Sheikha Haya bint Rashid al Khalifa, who assumes the presidency of the General Assembly this month, to discuss a range of issues. GWB will host a meeting of leaders from democratic states and civil society organizations involved in building the institutions of democracy around the world. He will also attend a luncheon hosted by the Secretary-General. That evening, President and Mrs. Bush will host a reception for Heads of Delegation.

_ Sept. 22, President Bush will welcome President Pervez Musharraf of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the White House. The two Presidents last met during President Bush's historic visit to Pakistan in March.

EXTENDED SCHEDULE:

_ Sept. 26, President Bush will welcome President Hamid Karzai of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the White House. The visit will be an opportunity for the President to congratulate President Karzai on the progress Afghanistan has made over the last five years and to reaffirm America's commitment to stability and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

_ Sept. 26, First Lady Laura Bush will attend a fundraiser at the Hotel Utica, upstate New York, for State Senator Raymond Meier's congressional campaign. Sen. Meier is running for the open seat of retiring Rep. Sherwood Boehlert.

_ Sept. 29, President Bush will welcome President Nursultan Nazarbayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the White House. Kazakhstan is an important strategic partner in Central Asia.

_ Oct. 3, President Bush will visit Northern California to campaign for two Republican congressional candidates. GWB will visit Stockton to headline a fundraiser for Rep. Richard Tracy. The breakfast is expected to be at the Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium. Later that same day, President Bush will headline a fundraiser for Rep. John Doolittle at the El Dorado Hills Country Club. Both incumbents represent Republican-leaning districts that the President carried handily in 2004.

_ Nov. 28-29, President Bush will travel to Tallanin, Estonia, for meetings with the President and Prime Minister of Estonia. He will then travel to Riga, Latvia, for the NATO summit.

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: The Vice President has been on a hectic schedule of campaign stops, including one in California last Friday. On Monday, he will visit northeastern Pennsylvania to raise campaign funds for Republican Rep. Don Sherwood. He will also attend a fundraiser for Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. The Santorum campaign announced that the visit will be next week, but no specific date was given. Although no date has been announced yet, the VP will be traveling to Houston soon to raise funds for the Congressional campaign of Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, several sources told the Fort Bend Herald this week.

[LuvyaDubya]

Hi Wolfstar. The press used some of that "creative cropping" last Sunday, too.

[ilovew]

Aww how cute!

[OldFriend]

And how are you today, young lady!

[mystery-ak]

That Shays pic grossed me out!....Hi Wolstar, thanks for the Dose tonight.

[ilovew]

I'm doing great. I finally finished reading Madam President and writing the (very critical) book review. So I'm happy about that. And I'm ready to get back to work tomorrow :)

How are you doing?

[Wolfstar]

A small tribute to the memory of Barbara Olson, a well-loved and respected conservative commentator who was killed aboard American Airlines Flight 77 when Islamofacist scum flew it into the Pentagon on 9/11/01. Her husband Ted seems to be doing OK. The two were very much in love, and he was hit extremely hard by her death. She was on the phone to him when the plane hit the Pentagon. Her last words were a question to her husband asking what she should tell the other passengers.

He is seen here with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, left, in the East Room of the WH before President Bush delivered a speech on terrorism, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2006. Ted Olson was U.S. Solicitor General during GWB's first term.

Five years ago tomorrow, the first person came down with symptoms of what would soon be revealed as a bioweapons attack upon the United States. The anthrax attacks appear to be all but totally forgotten now, but we should never forget. Although there is no definite proof (at least none ever made public), there is strong circumstantial evidence linking the anthrax attacks to Mohammed Atta's terrorist cell.

I have always believed it was the anthrax attacks, coming as they did virtually simultaneously with the 9/11 hijackings, that caused President Bush to take out Saddam Hussein. I have also always believed he could never say so publicly because investigators didn't turned up solid proof. Proof or not, the hijackings and follow-on anthrax attacks on Congress certainly were a combined attack on our economy and governmnet. Proof or not, no President of the United States could have ignored the possibility that the anthrax came from Iraq, the one nation-state on earth to have used comparable weapons in recent times.

[Wolfstar]

The press used some of that "creative cropping" last Sunday, too.

Yes...they seem to be doing it more often lately.

[snugs]

I owe you a toaster from yesterday what is your choice of photo.

[Wolfstar]

Aww how cute!

That is a cute moment, isn't it. Mrs. Bush looks surprised, pleased and a little flustered.

[snugs]

Thinking of you too and I hope that things improve for you

[Wolfstar]

That Shays pic grossed me out!....

Awwwww...whatever we think of him, he was trying to be gentlemanly toward Mrs. Bush. After all, she was helping him raise campaign cash, so a peck on the cheek was the least Shays could do for her. :)

[OldFriend]

Doing fine and happy to see you posting. After all, how many freepers are actually working in the Pentagon! Lucky you! And Sessions is no slouch! LOL

[ilovew]

I wonder why Shays did that. He doesn't strike me as the warm, fuzzy type.

[snugs]

Congratulations toaster winner - what would you like?

[ilovew]

Well, I'm not actually working in the Pentagon anymore. I wish I had actually said something to Senator Sessions. Although probably what would have come out is something along the lines of "I know someone who calls you Senator Cute as a Button" so maybe it was a good thing I didn't say anything :P

[Wolfstar]

I wonder why Shays did that. He doesn't strike me as the warm, fuzzy type.

Me neither, but maybe Mrs. Bush had just finished saying something particularly nice about him. You know how those campaign rally speeches go.

[ilovew]

Yeah, maybe. It's nice to see Mrs. Bush campaigning. I haven't seen her in a while.

[Wolfstar]

It's nice to see Mrs. Bush campaigning.

I agree. I understand both she and her husband have been campaigning quite a bit for Republican candidates. It is nice, because I get the impression she isn't as active as GHWB is now that they are in their 80's.

[dmd25]

Thank you for the Dose update, Wolfstar! I love that first pic of GWB today. Great photo!

[STARWISE]

Thanks, Wolfie ... prayers that this job opportunity comes through. I hadn't looked closely at all the 9/11 commemoration pics, but I'm so struck by the deep emotion on W's face at the Pentagon event.

God bless him ... help him carry his burdens.