White
House Press Briefing
White
House, April 25, 2003
Press Briefing (excerpt)
[unrelated material cut...]
Q: And second question, piggy-backing off of what
Terry was asking. President Bush denounced what Trent Lott said. Why not
denounce what Santorum has said?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, because I think the President
views this exactly as I’ve indicated all week, that there is a legal matter
pending before the Supreme Court, and that different individuals are going to
offer legal theories about this matter. And that puts it in a different
category.
Q: But Ari, on January 15th, Dr. King’s
birthday, the President delivered an amicus brief for the University of
Michigan, saying he was against their points policy for admission. Why not get
involved in this situation?
MR. FLEISCHER: Actually, because the matters are
not analogous. One involved federal programs, admissions, that the federal
government is directly involved in. This is a matter clearly applying to a
state law.
Q: Does he denounce Santorum’s comments, though?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President views it exactly as
I’ve indicated. This is a question of a legal matter before the courts. And
different people have different legal theories.
[cut]
Q: Thank you. My next question, you’ve declined
to comment on Santorum’s statements that the Senator says were misconstrued.
Some have suggested that the real story here is that the Associated Press
reporter conducting the interview is the wife of John Kerry’s campaign
manager. How would you respond to that?
MR. FLEISCHER: I’m not going to respond to that.
I’m aware of those reports and I don’t know how to evaluate them.
[cut]
Q: Ari, both Senator Frist and Senator Specter
have publicly supported Senator Santorum. And my question: Does the President
believe they were wrong to do so, because while governor of Texas he ever
tried to get that state’s sodomy law repealed?
MR. FLEISCHER: As I said this morning, Lester, the
President has confidence in Senator Santorum, both as a senator, as a member
of the Senate leadership. Jesus.
Q: Wait a minute, I have one follow-up.
MR. FLEISCHER: Go ahead.
Q: The Culture and Family Institute -
MR. FLEISCHER: But calm down. (Laughter.)
Q: I will. Thank you. The Culture and Family
Institute estimates that 30 to 40 percent of Americans are evangelical
Christians, and these, plus loyal Catholics and conservative and orthodox Jews
comprise a large portion of the Republican base, which so narrowly elected
[sic] the President. Robert Knight of this institute says that the
President’s refusal to support Senator Santorum, “looks like a suicide
move.” Is your statement just now a refutation, in that he is supporting -
MR. FLEISCHER: I can’t refute something that was
asked me after I made my statement. I made my statement, and I would just say
this, when it comes to faith -
Q: So he does support Santorum.
MR. FLEISCHER: No, no, no, I want to say
this—you raised a question whose premise deals with faith. Faith is an
important part of life for many Americans, regardless of their party,
regardless how one party or another has different people of different faiths.
It’s one of the things that makes America one country, regardless of what
party people fall into. And the reaction I gave is based on the President’s
views as a governmental matter, and that’s he approaches it.
[cut]
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