Interview: Former Spokesman to House Speaker
>> if there’s a leak out of my administration, i want to know who it is. and if the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of.
>> that was then, this is now. former white house aide “scooter” libby in his grand jury testimony says it was the president himself who gave the go ahead to leak classified information of the how big a blow to the bush administration and the g.o.p.? let’s ask a political insider, john feehery, former spokesman to house speaker dennis hastert, joining me for this week’s edition of “inside outlook.” thank you very much for joining us, john. is this a big story?
>> it is a big story and the question is will th white house successfully without its defense out so we know their side of the story. it makes sense the white house wanted to get information out to help bolster their reasons for going into iraq. and they need to explain better why they did what they did and why they didn’t explain it earlier. and to have this kind of drip out, i think is bad for them and they need to mount a vigorous defense so it doesn’t get out of hand.
>> democrats already attacking the president on this. but what’s the reaction among republicans, fear?
>> i don’t know ifersey’re afraid. i think they want to get the facts. i think they want to know what the truth is and i think the white house needs to mount this campaign, give them the talking points to help the rationale. my big fear is that if this gets out of hand, this could be really bad for the president.
>> how bad? is this the kind of thing that would go to an impeachment inquiry?
>> i wouldn’t get to that level but i do think it’s one of those things that the president has credibility problems now and he needs to explain what’s going on in iraq in a way that makes sense to people and i think this hurts his credibility even more. so he needs to vigorously defend himself, tell me why he did that and then explain what’s going on in iraq in a way that will bolster his credibility and help improve the ratings on the war.
>> the president took office for his second term, he said he had 18 months before he started quacking, referring to being a lame duck. i asked him about those comments in the oval office today and he said he needed to extend his time frame, he wasn’t done yet. is that the feeling on capitol hill?
>> what most members of congress are worried about is the re-election and that’s what most of the press is worried about, too. you’ve seen the shift of attention going away from the white house and more to congress. if he wants to accomplish his agenda, he needle needs to do it quick.
>> is there anything on his agenda anyone is enthusiastic about on capitol hill?
>> the best thing they can get done is the tax cuts. there’s not a lot of enthusiasm for the president’s immigration proposal, but that being said, there’s a lot of action on it. i think there’s a wide gulf between what the senate wants to do and what the the house wants to do. the president needs to show leadership and get something done. that would be a significant victory if there was a comprehensive bill done. beyond that, the most important thing is the budget and if he could get a spending cut through that, would be very helpful to republicans in the coming election.
>> since we last talked, tom delay decided to resign from congress. how does that change the dynamic on capitol hill?
>> i think it takes away a target from the democrats. i think nancy pelosi is probably the most upset about tom delay’s resignation. i think tom did the right thing for the party and i think it was―it takes a front-page story and moves it to the middle of the paper and i think that’s probably good for republicans.
>> what about in terms of getting legislation through? does it make it a little less partisan up there, perhaps?
>> no, it’s an election year so it will continue partisan. where they miss tom’s effectiveness was as a leader and a whip and he was always very good at getting the votes. that was his best attribute. so i think they miss him from that perspective in getting -- we saw this in what happened with the budget before they broke, they couldn’t get the votes. they miss him as a leader but the democrats miss him as a target.
>> he was also very good at raising money and putting republicans in positions of influence in this town. how will his departure hurt that? >> largely over the last year the speaker has taken on the money raising burden for republicans. i don’t think it will hurt that badly. and i think the hullabaloo over the so-called k-street project, i think most trade associations and lobbyists are going to hire who they think is the best man to do the job and i always thought that was a little bit overstated. i don’t think it will have much of an impact on tom.
>> asked today about why americans aren’t more pleased with his administration disbiven the strong economic numbers, the president said,, well, it’s the war in iraq, people are seeing death and destruction on tv every night. people on capitol hill seeing the same thing. are republicans starting to get nervous about the effect of the war in iraq on their election prospects this fall?
>> yeah, i think it’s the war in iraq but i think it’s really what happened was the administration’s response to katrina. and that made people wonder what they’re doing in iraq. and i think what the president needs to do is he needs to explain to people in very simple terms what the stakes are and what the industry strategy is and he hasn’t done that yet in a way that i think can come through. i think people are very concerned about what’s going on. they want to know if there’s an end game. they want to know why we’re there and i think the white house needs to explain it better.
>> what’s the likelihood that republicans start joining with democrats and demanding a withdrawal date?
>> i don’t think it will happen. i don’t think that’s―maybe a couple of republicans but i certainly don’t think the speaker or the leadership would do that. i don’t think the most rank and file republicans would handcuff the president that way.
>> thank you very much, john feehery, our “inside outlook” this week. john’s with the motion picture association of america. what are americans so worried about when it comes to illegal immigration? the answer ahead in the “poll of the day.”
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Listen Interview: St. Louis Fed Bank President
>> in that interview with gnel reporters this morning, president bush was asked for the first time about new reports of his involvement in the disclosure of classified intelligence documents. mr. bush saying, this is an ongoing investigation which i will have no comment about. white house spokesman scott mcclellan, hammered over the issue during his briefing today, he says mr. bush has the legal authority to declassify sensitive materials and would never jeopardize national security.
>> we’ll allow others to assess the blame. i feel very strongly, as we all do, that we could have accomplgatinghing and we didn’t. i think the emphasis was to move forward but clearly the process was broken last night.
>> that was not scott mcclellan. court documents show the indicted former chief of staff to vice president cheney, lewis “scooter” libby, told prosecutors that mr. bush authorized him to give parts of the classified information to the “new york times.” the economy created more than 211,000 jobs and growth this quarter is forecast around 5%, yet the president’s approval numbers are near record lows. why? he told us today it’s because of the war in iraq. “i think the war is affecting americans’ attitudes about the future and i can see why. americans are exposeed to death and destruction on their tv screens nearly nightly.” he said the most important next step is for iraqis to form a unity government. that already difficult task may have gotten harder today with the suicide bombing at a shiite mosque in baghdad. the associated press reporting the deaths of at least 79 and scores more wounded. the president’s contention that the economy is getting stronger echoed by st. louis fed bank president william poole. earlier, he spoke with our clans about―kathleen hays about employment and unemployment.
>> i like to look at the inflation directly rather than the unemployment rate. if you look at a chart that plots unemployment rate or changes in unemployment rate against inflation, there is only the very, very weakest of relationships there. it’s just not an adequate indicator for monetary policy purposes in the short run.
>> people who think that the fed has done enough and is in danger of overshooting, one of the things they bring up―you’ve talked about what a great economy it is and they talk about core inflation down around 2% or lower. do you look at core inflation at that level and say i don’t need to worry about inflation?
>> no, i think we always need to worry about inflation because there’s always the possibility that inflation will come along to bite us so we try to look as best we can at the deeper determinants of inflation. when i said, in response to your question about the unemployment, i don’t ignore the unemployment rate. i don’t ignore the pressures i see in markets . but there is no close relationship that allows for that to be by any means the only thing i look at.
>> st. louis fed bank president william poole. you can watch more of kathleen’s interview on bloomberg’s “ford” this saturday morning. we have a winner, the pentagon collects a contractor for its newest fighter and that company is hiring. “political notes” is next.
