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I just wanted to make sure it was done the right way. I felt that, one of my concerns was it would usurp the congress congress's need to fully investigate. Then i recognized it was a good avenue and venue and a good way to get out the facts and did do a great job.

>> Larry: What did you think of the report?

>> They did a great job. We implemented a lot of great regulations. The other day a nounsed we'd have a national intelligence director.

>&gtArarry: Will he have all the power I recommended?

>> I want to work with congress on that. The issue of the budget is probably the most interesting issue, and congress itself has got to get its house in order on the budget. There's a lot of different jurisdictions involved with --

>> Larry: Should that have a lot of power?

>> There's no need to have the position if the person doesn't have the capacity to make important decisions. The person should not be in the cabinet, and will not be in the cabinet.

>> Larry: Why?

>> Because you want the person independent from the administration, separate from the administration is a better way to put it. Not independent in the sense that the person can't be fired. I think the president ought to have the right to name, nominate and with the consent of the senate and have the ability to fire the person but i really don't think makes sense to have the intelligence director sitting around a cabinet table as we discussed, you know, agricultural matters or health matters. I think this person needs to be independent is the wrong word. Separate from the administration with powers.

>> Larry: There is a rumor, i don't know if you've heard it, that you're going to ask senator mccain to take that job, leave the senator and take that job. Did he come through your thoughts?

>> We haven't really started thinking about --

>> Larry: Will he be in

TV Channel 37 Thu Aug 12 20:17:17 2004
're catching me totally fresh. I haven't really thought about a person to fill the job because the job doesn't exist yet.

>> Larry: I know.

>> We got to first get it through the congress. My attention has been focused on naming somebody to run the cia and I found a very good man in porter goss, nominated a good man from florida, whom i think will do a great job.

>> Larry: You expect him to breeze through?

>> Breeze is an interesting word. I expect him to be nominated. I certainly hope people wouldn't hold up his nomination because he's very capable.

>> Larry: Your opponent has said that this war was going it alone.

>> This?

>> Larry: You went alone. How do you respond to that?

>> Gosh, you know, tony blair doesn't think that.

>> Larry: Alone in relationship to previous where we have hey so many united people with us.

>> Well, there's 30 nations now involved in iraq. I know their leaders well. I've thanked them on behalf of the american people for serving alongside our troops. I think to say we've gone it alone really guess denegrate the contributions of other countries. These leaders and these people and these countries from all around the world, japan or south korea or denmark or holland, they've made sacrifices like we have, because they understand the stakes.

>> Larry: Have any expressed any regrets?

>> Not to me. But because people understand, one, saddam was a threat, and the world is better off with him sitting in a prison cell. We're safer because he's a prison cell. The iraqi people are certainly better off because he's in a prison cell. They also understand what I told you earlier that a free iraq and a part of the world that is desperate for freedom will be an agent for change. These are historic times. That's how I view it.

>> Larry: Is this the most important election ever?

>> For me it is.

>> Larry: Well, people are saying that. They've said it I'm sure when frankly pierce was running, but wouldn't you say, based on history, this is?

>> I think it's very important. I think the election is important to, for a lot of reasons.

>> Larry: There's a clear definition between you.

>> Absolutely there is, particularly on how to fight and win the war, on taxes, on a lot of issues.

>> Larry: Why do you think first it's so close?

>> Because look at the last election. I think, you know, the united states is divided, as they say. I don't think we're divided against each other, but i just think they're politically.

>> Larry: Politically.

>> Um-hum.

>> Larry: You don't think it has changed.

>> I don't think it has changed since the last election.

>> We'll see. You're speculating here in august.

>> Larry: Based on the polls.

>> Give us a chance to kick down the stretch. It's really early.

>> Larry: The sixth inning.

>> Exactly, early in the campaign in a certain sense. A lot of people are, you know, want to be on vacation. You and i followed this closely, of course. A lot of folks are vacationing and they'll start to focus again.

>> Larry: Do you think there are a lot of people who haven't made up their mind?

>> I guess the polls don't say that. There are some people that could be persuaded to change their opinions.

>> Larry: Do you run into people that say I don't know or mostly I support you.

>> I run into both. When you say run in, generally the president doesn't run into anybody.

>> Larry: You've been doing public forums.

>> A lot of public forums, a lot of bus trips and we see people express their opinions, great thing about our country is they're free to do so, and by far, the vast majority of people who come out to wave are doing to so in a friendly fashion. Occasionally there's the not so friendly wave. I do -- look, I don't know if it's going to be close or not. I believe I'm going to win. I believe the american people know my style of leadership. They know what to expect, and they understand that the commander-in-chief must not waiver in this era, that we must continue to stay on the offense, but they also are beginning to understand my deep desire to spread liberty around the world as a way to help secure our country in the long run. I think we have an obligation to lead. I mean, and we will lead and we will continue to work with others in a vast coalition. This debate on coalition is a very interesting debate. It's, sometimes i think they're basically saying that there's no such thing as a coalition unless the french are involved, but the truth of the matter is, the french are involved in afghanistan and the french have been involved in haiti. The french government just didn't agree with the decision to remove saddam hussein from power, and therefore, there was a difference of opinion on that issue, but i will argue that saddam hussein out of power has made the world a better place, and a safer place.

>> Larry: Even without weapons of mass destruction?

>> Well, we thought we'd find stockpiles. The whole world thought we'd find stockpiles, including evidently the french government which voted in the U.N. Security counsel council to say saddam, disclose, disarm or face serious consequences. We do know that saddam hussein had the capability of making weapons of mass destruction and after september the 11th, a risk we could not take was that he would share that capability with our enemies. Let me say one other thing. Had we not moved, saddam hussein would be even more powerful. He would have defied the world again, after 11 years of defiance. He would have defied the world again and would have been even more dangerous.

>> Larry: So you'd do it again?

>> Absolutely, made the right decision.

>> Larry: Would you send more troops, though? Everything couldn't have been perfect. Let me pick that up in a minute. We'll be right back with president bush, mrs. Bush an "larryining live." We'll talk about stem cell research about which mrs. Bush has been strongly speaking about and met with nancy reagan who has opinions on it. Don't go away.

>>> We're here with president and mrs. Bush and we're on the subject of if we had to do it over, would we do it over and do it with more troops? Everything wasn't perfect.

>> No, listen, some things happened that it was hard to predict and some things didn't happen that we thought were going to happen. For example, we thought they'd blow up the oil fields, mass starvetion and refugees. Here's the way I'm doing my job. I set the strategies, and i asked the experts to provide the tactics, and general tommy franks came into my office. I said do you have everything you want? I'll never forget the day we launched the war. In my heart of hearts, i knew that diplomacy failed. The last option of a president ought to be commit troops. In large rite, it is a very serious decision. I went down to the situation room in the basement of the white house and there was tommy on the screen and i said to him, "general franks, do you have everything you need? Are you satisfied with the plan, and do you have all you need?" And he looked at me and said, "yes, sir, mr. President." And i went around to all of the other commanders he had assembled on the video and I -- to a person they said they had what they needed. I said, gave the order to the secretary of defense. I said god bless you, and he left, and the reason i tell that you story is that tommy, general franks, now tommy, knew me well enough to be able to walk right in the oval office and say "mr. President, we don't have what we need. We need more."

>> Larry: Excuse me, does the buck stop with you?

>> Absolutely.

>> Larry: President kennedy was told the bay of pigs would go smoothly. And he took the wrap.

>> That's what elections are about. People can go in the voting booth and decide whether or not --

>> Larry: Is that what led to the ship the batle is over?

>> I didn't say that. Let's be careful about that. I went on the aircraft carrier to thank a crew.

>> Larry: The sign.

>> The sign said "mission accomplished." I didn't say the battle was over. It said "mission accomplished." I was talking to sailors and pilots who had been an extended tour, maybe their longest in a long period of time. They were both -- this carrier was both in afghanistan and in iraq. And i wanted to look them in the eye and say thank you for doing your job, and in the speech i gave on the carrier deck i also went on to say there's more hard work to do, and I'll do it again. I would do it again. I think i have an obligation as the commander-in-chief as far as the military goes, thank the military every chance i get. Yesterday, last night in phoenix there was a huge crowd and a woman holding up a sign that said, "my son is in iraq." I singled her out. I said your son is providing a noble service during these historic times and I want to thank you and your son for sacrificing for long-term peace. And i owe an obligation to our troops.

>> Larry: Was the sign a mistake?

>> I don't know if it was. People make a big deal out of it. It was not a mistake to go to the carrier and there was no intention to say that this was over. Quite the contrary. If people listened to what i said, i said, "there is more hard work to do." And there is hard work to do. Listen, i think it's an unrealistic expectation to say that iraq was going to be a free society instantly or not instantly, nearly instantly after saddam hussein had been removed from power, because this is a man who had brutallized people for years, and --

>> Larry: Why are so many of them so upset?

>> Why -- you know, so many so upset, you mean the baathists, radical baathists? They're upset because they're not in power, but by far the vast majority of iraqis want to live in a free and peaceful world.

>> Larry: The thing with mr. Chalabi, looking back, was that a mistake?

>> You mean to have him in the governing council initially?

>> Larry: And sat with you at your state of the union address.

>> Oh, yeah. Well, we'll see. He came with a --

>> Larry: Has he said anything to you?

>> I don't want to prejudge the facts but i do know that chalabi came with a --

>> Larry: I keeping saying chalabi. You pronounce it better than me.

>> Whatever. But he came with a delegation of iraqi citizens, and leaders that we were able to herald, and to our country, it was important to say that people here want to be free and they want to self-govern and it's important for the americans to know that, and whether or not chalabi br