Press Briefing by Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

1:45 P.M. EDT

MR. BURTON: It's the first time I've been up here with the new arrangement. And you, too, Ms. Werner.

Fire away.

Q: Do you have any update on the plane crash in Alaska, particular Senator Stevens' condition?

MR. BURTON: This is something we're obviously watching very closely, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of anybody who was on that aircraft. And hopefully we'll have some information soon.

Q: So you don't know Senator Stevens' status?

MR. BURTON: I don't.

Q: And has the President been briefed on the crash?

MR. BURTON: I'm not 100 percent sure on that. I will let you know.

Q: Okay, on another topic, on Robert Gibbs' comments on the professional left, can you explain why it's helpful to the White House or to Democrats for him to be insulting progressives who helped get the President elected in that way?

MR. BURTON: Well, I think what Gibbs was doing was having one conversation with one reporter and, in response to some questions about frustration, just answered honestly. I don't think that it should be read as anything more than that.

Q: Did his comments reflect the President's sentiments?

MR. BURTON: Well, I think -- you watched the coverage, we all watched the coverage, and read it -- and when you look at some of the things that this administration has been able to do, from ending the combat mission in Iraq, to comprehensive health care reform, to equal pay, to financial regulatory reform, to what we're doing today to save 160,000 teacher jobs, is there ever some frustration from anyone who works in this building about the way it's being covered? Sure. But that doesn't distract us from the very serious work that we've got to do to keep the American people safe and keep the American economy growing.

So I would just say that our focus today isn't one article in a Hill publication. It's what the President is doing to strengthen the economy.

Q: But the President, during the campaign, had made a couple of comments at least once asking Democrats to hold him accountable when he became President, so how is that not what the left is doing through this criticism?

MR. BURTON: Well, the President absolutely thinks that he should be held accountable, and at a very high standard. And if you look at the things that we've been able to accomplish in just the first 20 months of this administration, he thinks that, by any standard, he's done a lot to advance a lot of the goals that Americans as a whole have had for, in some cases, 100 years when it comes to comprehensive health care reforms. So I would say that the President is not backing away from a desire to be held to a high standard.

Caren.

Q: Bill, just a follow-on on the professional left comment, has Gibbs reached out to anybody in the Democratic Party to sort of explain what he was getting at with the comment?

MR. BURTON: Not that I know of.

Q: Okay. Moving on to the aid to states, the President made a pitch for that, and it does seem like it's probably going to pass. So he's got that -- he's got the extension of unemployment insurance, and yet the numbers are still pretty weak on the economy. There are concerns among some that more needs to be done. And I'm just wondering, are there ideas in the works? Is there a feeling that there's just time needed to let these actions take effect? Or do you feel that there's a need for something more?

MR. BURTON: There's not a person at this White House, including the President, who's complacent with the progress that we've made on the economy. Today was a very important step, but the President thinks that there's a lot more that we need to do. We should be able to move forward with the small business bill that will help to cut taxes and help create an environment where small businesses can create jobs. He thinks we need to extend the tax cuts for middle-class families to make sure we're putting money in the pockets of folks who will actually go out and spend it in our economy. And, as he's said numerous times, we need to increase -- double exports, which we've been able to make some progress on. If you look at the event at the Ford plant last week, American manufacturers are making products that people in foreign countries want to buy. We're going to continue to do more and more of that.

And the President is, of course, always looking to more ideas where we can create more jobs, where we can strengthen this economy, because we were dug into a pretty deep hole, we're digging our way out of it, and we're doing everything we can to speed up that pace.

Q: Some of the critics of the aid to states say that it's a Band-Aid, that the condition of some states is precarious. How concerned is the White House about some of the woes that the states are facing fiscally?

MR. BURTON: Well, the President was very concerned that some 160,000 teachers could have lost their jobs had this not passed. So we're going to do everything that we can to make sure that we're in the best economic shape possible to make sure that we're not in a position where teachers and firefighters and cops are being laid off, because that would happen at the expense of our kids, it would happen at the expense of our communities, and the President just doesn't think that's the right path forward.

Q: Bill, following up on that, when the President promised today in the Rose Garden that this bill, if passed, would bring, he said, "hundreds of thousands of additional jobs in the next year," how can you back up that claim when even the White House's own material about this event -- some of the teachers that were appearing with the President, you had to say they might get their jobs back. There's no guarantee that these teachers are actually going to be rehired. So how can you back up the claim that hundreds of thousands of people are going to get their jobs?

MR. BURTON: Well, obviously we have some of the best economists in the world working at this White House, and they've taken a hard look at the numbers. They've taken a hard look at, state by state, what the states need in order to avoid some of these drastic cuts that would take teachers out of our classrooms and takes cops and firefighters off our streets. And they're confident that those numbers are accurate.

Q: Didn't those same White House economists say about the stimulus if it passed it would bring unemployment down to 7.5, 8 percent?

MR. BURTON: Those same economists were saying a lot of things that economists all over the country were saying at that same time.

Q: But it turned out to not be true.

MR. BURTON: That was a point at which not many people knew the extent of the damage that was done to the economy, or how deep the hole was going to get. But we've been able to make a lot of progress since then. But like I said before, the pace hasn't been fast enough and the President is going to continue to work to make sure that we're strengthening the economy in every way we can.

Q: On the Gibbs' comments, you didn't seem to be backing away from them at all. So does this White House believe that some liberals need to be drug-tested for their criticism -- (laughter) -- I mean, because you didn't back off that.

MR. BURTON: I didn't back off of what Gibbs said, and I think that he was making a light joke there.

Q: Okay, so they literally don't want them drug-tested? (Laughter.)

MR. BURTON: I don't know if you have time later on today or a syringe, but --

Q: I'm not part of the professional left, but --

MR. BURTON: You can be a part of the drug-testing.

Q: WikiLeaks, Daily Beast is reporting --

Q: -- drug-testing WikiLeaks. (Laughter.)

Q: WikiLeaks. In other -- but in all seriousness, WikiLeaks, Daily Beast is reporting that this administration is pressing some key allies like Britain, Australia, Germany to launch their own investigations of WikiLeaks -- open criminal investigations of its founder. Why is the White House expanding this? Is there a fear that more memos are coming out? What's the thinking on this?

MR. BURTON: I'm not familiar with the government pressing other nations to press criminal charges.

Q: So it's not true?

MR. BURTON: This is obviously -- no, no, no, what I said was that I wasn't familiar with that. So what I -- obviously this was a very serious breach. And as we've said before, it put lives in danger and we're conducting our own investigation here in the United States government. But anything like that that's happening government-to-government, I can check on that for you.

Q: Very last thing. Charlie Rangel today took to the House floor and complained that some fellow Democrats even were trying to push him out before he's had a fair day, he believes, in court. And he basically said, take your best shot and push for expulsion if you want, but you're not going to tell me to resign just to make Democrats more comfortable.

The President was one of those people in recent days who seemed to be trying to ease Charlie Rangel out in his comments to CBS a few days ago. Does he have any regrets about trying to push Charlie Rangel out before he really has a chance to answer these charges?

MR. BURTON: Well, for starters, I saw Charlie Rangel speaking -- they were carrying it live on cable. But I didn't hear everything that he had to say, so I can't speak specifically to what he said.

But as the White House has said before, as the President has said before, there is a bipartisan process in place that's working its way forward and we're just not going to be in the business of prejudging the process they're going through to answer what are some pretty serious questions.

Like I said earlier today, what we're focused on today --

Q: Didn't he prejudge it when he said it would be good for Charlie Rangel to end his career with some dignity -- wasn't that prejudging?

MR. BURTON: No, and this has been addressed before. What we're focused on today is how we're going to get those teachers back in their classrooms and how we're going to keep cops and firefighters on the street.

Yunji.

Q: Bill, nobody wants to fire teachers or firefighters or police officers, but what about the Republican complaint that this is just kicking the can down the road, that this is essentially pressing the snooze button on a problem that is inevitable?

MR. BURTON: I guess we just disagree with the premise that we have to inevitably let 160,000 teachers go, that we have to make our streets less safe by taking cops and firefighters off them, that we can't help out some of these states to keep these jobs and to keep our economy growing. This was done in the most fiscally responsible of ways. It's all paid for in part by ending foreign tax cuts. And the President's view is that we've got to do all we can to keep people in their jobs and keep our economy growing. That's our charge right now while we're in this economic mess.

Q: There are a number of Republican governors that we've spoken to today who say they might not take the money. What do you say to that?

MR. BURTON: I would say that they should take any assistance that they can get to keep teachers in their classrooms. This is bigger than an ideological fight. It's bigger than just right and left politics. When it comes to teaching our kids, it's about making our nation competitive in the long term.

The President's speech yesterday I think is very important on this point. We cannot have a situation where America is continuing to decline as it relates to math and science and all the other different aspects. If we aren't continuing to excel, if we aren't graduating kids from college, we are going to be out-competed in the future, and the President just doesn't think that that's -- just doesn't think that's right.

Q: Do you foresee other sort of emergency injections of money like this down the line? I mean, at what point does it stop? There are other priorities that could be just as important as keeping kids in school. I mean, at some point you have to say, okay, some fiscal responsibility here.

MR. BURTON: Well, yes, of course the President is for fiscal responsibility, and that's why he did this in such a way that this is all paid for. This does not add to the deficit. And it's critically important that people understand that.

This is a common-sense measure that's going to keep people in their jobs, that's going to keep teachers in the classroom, and it's going to help our economy.

Q: At the expense of people who are receiving food stamps?

MR. BURTON: I'm sorry?

Q: Some of the money is coming from not fully funding food stamps.

MR. BURTON: Well, I think that when you look at how the money is broken down, where it goes, this money is going to go to the people who are affected the most by this lagging economy. And the lion's share of how this is paid for is these foreign tax cuts that were eliminated.

Ann, do you have a follow-up on that?

Q: I had a follow-up. If a state like Illinois still has $670 million of education stimulus money that it's been allotted that it hasn't spent, why doesn't it use that money before you have to give it more?

MR. BURTON: Well, a lot of these -- what we did was we looked at what was the most responsible way to repurpose some of the stimulus money. And in this specific case, there was an opportunity to pay for part of what we were doing with that money.

Now, the vast majority of the stimulus has already been spent. It's either out the door or it's allocated to a specific project or it's going to go out in the form of a tax cut that people are going to get in their paycheck. We don't think that we should turn any of that around. We can't take one job-creation program and eliminate it at the -- and create it at the expense of another that we're eliminating. We need to build on the progress that we're making.

So, in this case, we think that we found the right formula to do this in the most fiscally responsible way.

Q: So you dispute the figures that Illinois still has $670 million, West Virginia has $274 million unspent in the education money that they've already been given?

MR. BURTON: I'm not necessarily disputing those numbers; I haven't seen specifically where those numbers come from. But I will say that in this specific case, what we're concerned about -- what we're focused on is making sure that this money is being spent in the most responsible way, that we are making sure that we're not eliminating some program at the expense of another.

So, like I said, I don't know where you got that specific number from; I don't necessarily doubt it. But what we need to do is make sure that we're not eliminating something just because maybe the money is still in the bank account but it hasn't been spent on the specific program that it's allocated for at the expense of another program.

Q: But Bill -- sorry, real quick -- you guys have opposed redirecting the stimulus money in the past. I'm just wondering, so what's changed in this instance? I mean, there have been efforts on both sides of the aisle to pay for unemployment benefits, a bunch of other stuff in the past, using stimulus funds, and you guys have resisted that. I'm just wondering why.

MR. BURTON: Right. And I think I just addressed that, and that's that in this specific instance, we thought that we found a way to spend this money on a new program that would help to build on the success that we've had. But like I said, most of the money is either gone or allocated, and there aren't going to be a lot of opportunities for something like that in the future.

Bill.

Q: But those numbers are part of the reason your critics are saying that maybe this money that is being appropriated isn't all needed, and that you're doing this primarily to please the teachers unions in advance of November elections.

MR. BURTON: I would say that that is an awfully cynical take on what we're doing, which we think is --

Q: But is it cynical if there's money out there --

MR. BURTON: -- which is a critical --

Q: -- that isn't -- that hasn't been used and could be for these teachers' salaries and municipal salaries?

MR. BURTON: Bill, if teachers are being laid off, it's not because there's extra money around that they could just put towards those teachers, and stick them in those jobs. Teachers are being laid off because states are in economic crises. And what the President is doing here is everything that he can to make sure that teachers stay in these classrooms, that firefighters and cops stay on the streets, and that our economy keeps growing. But this is -- I would urge you not to think that this is by any means anything other than exactly what it is.

Q: When Gibbs made his comment about -- or when the President, rather, made his comment about Charlie Rangel, he did seem to be suggesting that he ought to retire with dignity. And it was taken that way by many of us. And does he express any further opinion on the fact that Rangel isn't ready to retire yet?

MR. BURTON: What the President -- I think the President's words speak for themselves.

Q: Yes, we do, too. (Laughter.)

MR. BURTON: And I talked about this right afterwards. Like we said, we're not prejudging the outcome of this bipartisan process. The President was asked a question and he answered it, and I've made crystal clear on numerous occasions that we're not prejudging that process.

Q: Reaction to the House-passed border security measure today -- does the President think this shows the Democrats' commitment to border security that Republicans feel has been lacking?

MR. BURTON: Well, what I can tell you is that there is likely nothing that the President is going to do that is going to silence all the critics when it comes to the border. But what I will say is that the President has put more assets on the border than have ever been there before, but that immigration as an issue needs to be addressed in a comprehensive fashion. And that's exactly what he's been working to do with both Democrats and Republicans, and unfortunately without the sort of Republican support that would be necessary in order to move forward.

Q: Would you expect that the passage of this bill will increase Republican support for comprehensive immigration reform?

MR. BURTON: You'd have to ask Republicans.

Q: On Secretary Gates' announcement yesterday, does the President commit the savings in the Pentagon's budget, such as they are, to reducing the deficit? Would he basically place those savings off-limits for increased spending?

MR. BURTON: I don't know exactly how those monies are going to be allocated. That's something we can probably get back to you on. But the President thinks that Secretary Gates has been pretty courageous in making pretty tough choices as it relates to finding ways to modernize our nation's defenses, but do it in the most fiscally responsible of ways.

It's something we've got to do across this government. It's an effort that the President has started and is continuing. And -- but on the specific question, I think we'll have to --

Q: Well, I mean, it's in the spirit of fiscal responsibility that I would ask whether the money saved --

MR. BURTON: No, no, I understand the question that you're asking. And I'm telling you that if there's a specific allocation for that, we'll get back to you.

Q: What was Robert's definition of the professional left?

MR. BURTON: I think that the way I took it, and having spoken with Robert a couple of times today, I think he was just talking about folks who mostly live in this town and talk on cable TV.

Q: Do you want to address Robert's absence today to conspiracy theorists that are going to be out there, considering he has been a topic of question?

MR. BURTON: Yes, sure, it has nothing to do with this. He -- the problem is that drug makers have not found a Sudafed strong enough for Robert Gibbs. And so he's sitting upstairs, probably watching me talk to you, with a sore throat and the sniffles.

Q: And I won't think it's Charlie Rangel. (Laughter.) Going on the Charlie Rangel situation, Congressman Rangel directly quoted the President -- the word "dignity" -- three different times, and he said, to him a dignified exit would be expulsion from Congress. It was not a -- it was a not-so-subtle reference to the President's quotes. Is that a fair -- is Congressman Rangel interpreting the President's comments fairly?

MR. BURTON: Well, like I said, I saw that he was talking, but I didn't hear a thing that he said, so I'm just not qualified to speak --

Q: We can get you a transcript.

MR. BURTON: I appreciate it.

Q: Can I follow up on that?

Q: One more --

Q: Sorry, Chuck, it's just me.

MR. BURTON: Can you guys work this out among yourselves?

Q: We did it -- (laughter) --

Q: You know what, she doesn't work this morning, and now she wants to jump in. (Laughter.) No, go ahead, you had a follow-up.

Q: No, no. I was just going to say -- (laughter) -- you guys keep saying on Rangel that the words speak for themselves, what the President said, but I can think of at least two differing, widely divergent interpretations of what the President said. So why not just be clear about it? Did he mean to call for Rangel to resign?

MR. BURTON: No, what I -- I've been clear about this numerous times before and even today. There's a process in place. And in that bipartisan process, serious questions are being asked and answered about some charges that have been leveled against Congressman Rangel. The President's view is that we're not going to prejudge that process.

Q: The President came out to the Rose Garden today to talk about education funding. I assume the White House was not expecting Congressman Rangel to spend an hour on the House floor talking about Congressman Rangel rather than about education funding.

MR. BURTON: If he checked his speaking schedule with anybody here, I don't know about it.

Q: On the stimulus, you guys have made a big deal about the fact that you guys are paying for this $26 billion increase. You guys are going to push for an extension of at least the middle-class tax cuts. Are you committed to PAYGO in that process?

MR. BURTON: I don't have anything new for you. I know that this has been discussed at length in this room. But I don't have anything I can get for you on that.

Q: So you guys haven't made a decision about whether extending the middle-class tax cut should be paid for?

MR. BURTON: I'm just not going to break any news on that for you today.

Tommy. (Laughter.)

Q: All right. I have three.

MR. BURTON: His hand was up.

Q: Weird. (Laughter.)

Q: Just waiting like a lemming to be called on. (Laughter.)

Q: I have two questions. On the professional left, I've been watching Robert's Twitter feed all morning, and it's pretty intense, the reaction. Is he aware of that, and what's his reaction to that? Does he think they're being a bunch of crybabies or does he feel bad about it? (Laughter.)

MR. BURTON: I'll be honest -- and I don't have anything on Gibbs' reaction to his Twitter feed today.

Q: Well, and second question is, one of the criticisms I've been reading is that, with regard to the professional left, in issues like Shirley Sherrod, ACORN, Van Jones, that the administration seems to be more responsive to professional right than professional left. Do you have any response to that sort of criticism?

MR. BURTON: It's sort of an existential question, and I think what the President is most responsive to are the needs of our country. That's what you see he's doing today. He's focused on how do we grow our economy, how do we educate our kids. It's -- I wouldn't say that that's particularly right or left.

Q: Okay. And finally, was the President angry about the uproar surrounding Michelle's trip to Spain? Is he expressing anger?

MR. BURTON: Not that I know of.

Sheryl.

Q: A couple things. Looking ahead to the Panama City trip this weekend, what can you tell us about what the President and his family will do there? And since we're on the topic of vacations, why only one night?

MR. BURTON: Well, I did -- I checked into the itinerary right before I came out here, just to see if there's anything new. And unfortunately I don't have anything to announce for you. Hopefully later in the week we'll have more about what they'll be doing in and around Panama City.

Q: But there's still plans for a public event, from what we were told, some public event, what Robert said last week?

MR. BURTON: Yes, I don't think that that's changed, but I don't have any specific itinerary information.

Q: But the whole family is going? Is that correct?

MR. BURTON: I don't know. I'm not sure if one of the daughters is back from camp just yet.

Q: Will the President do any politicking in Florida?

MR. BURTON: No, there's no plan for that.

Q: And he's going next week for --

MR. BURTON: There's no plan for that. But next week on the 18th, he will be down there for a fundraiser for the Florida Democratic Party that will help all the candidates in the state.

Q: And just following on the discussion on the teachers announcement today, at what point does the President say that the government cannot continue to inject money into the economy to prop up public sector jobs? Will there be a point where he will finally say, okay, we're going to draw the line and this is enough?

MR. BURTON: Well, the President's view is that you have to look at a wide range of economic issues that we're dealing with individually. And in individual cases, if there's opportunities for us in a fiscally responsible way to inject some money and save some jobs, the President is going to want to keep doing that if it's possible. But if people are promoting methods that aren't fiscally responsible, he won't be supportive of that.

He understands that we're in an economic crisis right now. We have to do what we can to create an environment where people are creating jobs. But he also understands that we have some pretty serious fiscal issues as a country, and that's something that he is taking on as well. That's what you saw Secretary Gates doing. That's what he is doing across government with some of the cost-controlling measures.

Q: But couldn't you argue that if he has a way to reduce the deficit by ending these tax loopholes to businesses that ship jobs overseas, that he could do that and just reduce the deficit? I mean, he's making a choice here, right?

MR. BURTON: You got to make some pretty hard choices when you're President of the United States. And his view is that there are dollars -- if there are dollars that can be fiscally responsibly spent in order to save or create jobs, if there's ways that we can improve our economic outlook, if there's things that we can do to help an industry be more successful, then we've got to look at all those -- all the means at our disposal in order to grow our economy.

Q: Is it possible we'll see more steps like this?

MR. BURTON: It's possible you'll see a lot more steps when the President tries to save and create jobs.

Q: Back to the question about the frustration inside the White House that you talked about with the, I guess the professional left, you sort of danced around the question of the President himself, and said there are people -- are there people in this building who are frustrated, sure. Do you know if the President himself is upset with and frustrated, like Gibbs apparently was, with people on the left not acknowledging how many victories, how many accomplishments this President has made?

MR. BURTON: Well, we'll do a couple of things on this -- one, I think it's possible to overstate this conversation that Gibbs had with a reporter; and two, that -- to just, to overall just overstate the importance of this conversation. And sometimes -- I'm just -- sometimes in this room, a lot of people are going to ask questions so it seems like there's this upswell of interest or importance of an issue. But in this case, in this very specific issue that you asked about, what I said in response to the question was that, yes, every single person in this building, including the one who lives here, at times can be frustrated with the way some of the things are covered here.

But it's pretty minor compared to the hard work that we're actually doing and the commitment we have here at this White House, starting with the President of the United States, to stay focused on the things that are important to this country, namely keeping the American people safe and building this economy.

And so regardless of the questions about this, regardless of the impact of the article, we're going to keep focused on the things that are important to the American people.

Q: I guess -- my question was -- purposely didn't mention the article, because I think a lot of us in this room have heard that kind of frustration expressed in this building before. It's not -- he said it in a way that was particularly headline-grabbing.

MR. BURTON: Sometimes it's just for articles that you write. (Laughter.)

Q: But I guess the question is, does that -- is that frustration building as you get closer to the elections; that the string of things -- I think you even mentioned in your answer the first time -- of things that you guys have accomplished, that that is not appreciated enough by the people who helped the President get elected?

MR. BURTON: I would say that any level of frustration that anybody here in this White House has is extraordinarily minimal compared to the focus that people have on the work that they're doing.

Q: Thanks, Bill.

MR. BURTON: You bet.

Roger.

Q: Bill, I'd like to turn to the flooding in Pakistan.

MR. BURTON: Yes.

Q: Been power disruptions, energy disruptions. Millions of people have been dislocated. What kind of effect does that have on the military campaign against the insurgents? Can you talk a little bit about that?

MR. BURTON: Well, sure. We're monitoring the situation very closely and working with the Pakistani government to get the assistance that they request and to take a look at every one of the requests that come in through official channels to make sure that we're doing what we can to help alleviate some of what is a terrible human tragedy that's happening over there.

As it relates to the armed insurgency, our relationship with Pakistan is much bigger than just what we do in the fight against insurgents, and we certainly hope that they're not using this opportunity to inflict even more pain on the people of Pakistan. But our commitment to --

Q: Is there concern that they are or will be?

MR. BURTON: Well, the concern is that every single day you've got people who are intent on creating havoc in order to disrupt democracy and harm the way of life there. And so right now we're of course worried about the floods, we're worried about the insurgents, and we're dealing with those issues as appropriate.

Q: Is it a setback for the campaign against insurgents?

MR. BURTON: Well, it's a setback for the people of Pakistan, that they've lost so many people and that so much of their country is flooded and underwater. But we're continuing to remain committed to rooting out insurgency wherever --

Q: Does the military have to change its focus, though, because of the flooding?

MR. BURTON: For any specific military questions, I would just have you check in with the Pentagon.

Q: Okay, and one other question separately. On the schedule, for Thursday and Friday, can you tell us what's on the President's schedule?

MR. BURTON: Not much at this point. Maybe we'll have some more information at the end of the day or early tomorrow, but not much at this point.

Peter.

Q: Bill, getting back to this bill in the House, what criteria is the administration going to use to count the number of jobs that are saved or renewed by this thing?

MR. BURTON: I don't have the specific ways by which they are counting saved and created jobs. But if there's anything on the math behind that, I'm sure Amy Brundage would love to talk to you afterwards.

Q: So are they going to be lumped in with some of the numbers you've talked about on the jobs -- on the stimulus plan?

MR. BURTON: Well, we're talking about a separate --

Q: I know that.

MR. BURTON: So I would say it's separate.

Laura.

Q: On border security, as you know, governors on the border have repeatedly asked -- most recently yesterday -- for more troops, more National Guard troops on the border, and the administration has responded with a list of the -- what it characterizes as an aggressive action of its own. Is the reason for not putting more troops on the border because you don't think they're needed? Or is it because you just can't afford to do more at this point?

MR. BURTON: Well, I would start by saying that, as you said, the President has done quite a bit to increase the assets of the government at the border. That includes troops. It includes technology and all sorts of other things that we're doing to make sure that the border is as secure as possible.

We're in constant consultation with the state governments along the border and working as we can to make sure that we're doing what's necessary, and to make sure that we're responsive to their requests.

Q: But why not grant their request for additional troops? Is it because they aren't needed? Or is it just not -- is that -- would they be just not available, or some other reason?

MR. BURTON: Well, I think that it's not as simple as just saying what are we doing on one specific request. We're taking -- we're looking at this issue a little more comprehensively than that, and Secretary Napolitano and other folks who are involved with homeland security are making sure that -- like I said, we're responsive and we're doing what's necessary to secure the border.

Q: And just one question on the relationship with the progressive community -- this article aside, what do you think the --

MR. BURTON: Would you ask this question if there was an article?

Q: Hard to say. (Laughter.) That's a hypothetical. I don't engage in hypotheticals. (Laughter.)

Q: Way to go, Laura. (Laughter.)

Q: What do you think is the cause of the frustration of people on the left if what you say so many times is true, that there have been so many accomplishments? Why do you think there is so much frustration?

MR. BURTON: Well, I think you have to separate out what folks say on cable TV from what progressives around the country think about how things are going, because I think that if you -- and this isn't to completely just denigrate what people say on cable TV, I just think there's different measures of how people look at some of these issues.

And out in the country, I think a lot of folks are pretty pleased that we were able to get health care reform done, that we were able to end the combat mission in Iraq, that we were able to do all these other things on top of a lot of the issues that came up that we didn't know were coming, like pirates and the H1N1 pandemic. So I would just say that maybe the premise of your question, that the left is fundamentally unhappy, maybe doesn't look at the nuance that there are different segments of our supporters and of the American public out there.

Q: So you don't think these chattering types on cable are reflective of the left?

MR. BURTON: Not always, no.

Hey, Margaret.

Q: Hey, Bill. There is a United Nations report out that talks about civilian casualties in Afghanistan and the notion that the civilian casualties due to Taliban-led attacks is sharply up and due to U.S. attacks is down. And I'm wondering whether the administration thinks that that is a message that will have any political repercussions among the Afghan people, and what you think they will be, and how you -- if you do intend to try to publicize that message, how?

MR. BURTON: Well, for starters, the Taliban has been known to kill indiscriminately. If you look at what happened with those 10 aid workers that were killed, Americans died, Europeans died and Afghans died in what was a brutal and senseless attack. And it's because of those sorts of attacks that the Taliban does not have widespread support in the country of Afghanistan.

We're going to continue to do everything we can to reduce civilian casualties. This is something that is very important to General Petraeus. It's been important to our mission over there. And we are going to continue to make sure that the Afghan people know that we're committed to rooting out insurgency, dismantling al Qaeda, and doing it in such a way that is as safe as possible for the people of Afghanistan.

Peter.

Q: Thanks, Bill. The First Family has called upon people to visit the Gulf, vacation in the Gulf. Does that one-day trip we're going to see this weekend, does that show that they are taking their own advice? And would a longer trip show maybe a deeper commitment to the region and people of the Gulf?

MR. BURTON: Well, I suppose a longer trip could show all sorts of things. It's awfully hypothetical. And the President has been down there, the Vice President has been down there, the First Lady has been down there more than half a dozen times so far.

The President is deeply committed to the folks in the Gulf region, making sure that we do everything that we can to make sure that the people of that region are made whole again after what was a terrible catastrophe, and to make sure that the oil is cleaned up and the Gulf region is restored. No one should doubt the President's commitment to that. And he looks forward to going down to Florida, spend a little time on the Gulf, eat a little more shrimp, and spending some time with the good folks who live there.

Kendra.

Q: Yesterday, David Axelrod said he was sure Michelle Obama would be hitting the campaign trail for midterms. And I'm wondering, is she picking candidates she wants to support? Is the West Wing advising her in what her fall schedule is going to look like?

MR. BURTON: It's not set. Any scheduling of the First Lady would happen in conjunction with what the President is going to do, what the Vice President is going to do. But that's not quite put together just yet.

Ken.

Q: I wanted to take one more crack at the Rangel ethics issue. It's pretty clear from his remarks that he's feeling some heat from members of your party, Bill. And even though you have repeated the line here that you want the process to go forward, I'm wondering if you could maybe give us an idea what the position the White House is on other Democrats trying to force Charlie out. As you know, they say that he is a political -- well, they fear that he's going to become a political liability and he's behaving selfishly. And conversely, as we now know, Charlie Rangel happens to think that members of the Democratic Party are also behaving selfishly in trying to force him out. What's the White House's position on Democrats putting pressure on Democrats?

MR. BURTON: Though I appreciate the bank shot way that I could go back at the Charlie Rangel question, I just -- I know this is boring, but I'm not going to be in the position of prejudging the outcome of this process nor other people's reactions to it.

Q: But if you feel that the process should go forward, isn't it fair for you to also say that other Democrats should take that position as well and let the process go forward?

MR. BURTON: Ken, we're the Democratic Party. People all over the party have different positions from us all the time, it's fine.

Q: Let me try another one, then. (Laughter.) To follow up on Laura's question, you sort of alluded to the fact that the professional left doesn't necessarily represent the entire left, and you have some support there. Is it safe to assume then that you believe that by attacking the professional left you don't alienate the, for lack of a better term, amateur left? (Laughter.)

MR. BURTON: I'm not going to accept the premise that there's an amateur left, for starters. But like I said, this is kind of a small issue, and I don't think that this is going to have a huge impact on the fact that the things that this administration has done, what the President is setting out to do, as we go forward, the commitment that he has to keeping the country safe, to growing the economy. I don't think any of that is going to be obscured by those sorts of arbitrary definitions.

Sam.

Q: Yes, an actual member of the professional left, Representative Keith Ellison, told my colleague today that he thought it would be appropriate if Robert Gibbs stepped down because of his comments. I'm wondering if you have a reaction to that. And then I have a different question on a whole 'nother topic.

MR. BURTON: Okay, I don't think there's any danger in that. What's the other question?

Q: The other question was, tonight there's a vote obviously in the Democratic primary in Colorado. This White House, in addition to the DSCC, have been very adamant in backing Senator Michael Bennet. If you were to lose tonight, how would that not be interpreted as, I don't know --

MR. BURTON: Hypothetical, brother. (Laughter.)

Q: You're shaking your head -- I haven't even finished the question.

MR. BURTON: I know, it's just -- you're already starting out with a conditional tense of a verb, but keep going.

Q: Well, I guess I'll go to a different topic then if you're not going to get into that. (Laughter.)

MR. BURTON: Okay.

Q: Okay, last one. A week ago, Robert Gibbs said he didn't want to weigh in on the mosque issue in New York, he said it was too local of an issue for the White House to weigh in on. But we've now had national figures from both parties, including the majority of potential presidential candidates from the Republican Party, weigh in on this very issue. How come you're so reluctant to actually offer an opinion from the White House on what is pretty much consuming cultural and religious debate going on in this country?

MR. BURTON: Well, this is an issue that has been thought through, that's gone through a process in New York City. A decision has been made, and it's going forward. And we're just not going to be in a position where a local government is going to make a decision that we go in and re-adjudicate.

The President has made clear that we are not at war with Islam, and that we can have these sorts of discussions well within the traditions of openness and religious freedom that our country is based on.

Q: Are those discussions moving beyond those boundaries of openness? And are you worried about the anti-Muslim, anti-Islamic rhetoric that's been sort of brought out by this debate?

MR. BURTON: As President, what President Obama can do is make sure that we communicate exactly how we're feeling to the Muslim world, and we're focused on that. But I don't think that the boundaries are shifting in such way that that's dangerous.

Q: In a similar vein, does or will the President have a message for the world's Muslims as they begin their holy month of Ramadan? And is this an opportunity for the administration to continue its outreach?

MR. BURTON: We generally put out a statement so -- yes, I'm pretty sure that there will be a message that goes out.

Yes.

Q: More on how the First Family spent their summer vacation, given the criticism that the First Lady has received for her -- what some characterize as a lavish vacation, is there any concern about the optics of the President spending only one day in the Gulf and then doing 10 days in Martha's Vineyard?

MR. BURTON: No.

Q: Bill, one on border security. I'm just wondering if the President shared the view with Governor Perry that the Mexican drug cartels pose a direct threat to the communities of the southern border of the United States.

MR. BURTON: Well, obviously an important part of securing our border is making sure that drugs and guns aren't moving one way or another over the border. And we're going to continue to do everything we can to make sure that that border is as secure as we can make it.

Bill.

Q: Bill, to my partner Sam's interview, again --

Q: We're not partners. (Laughter.)

MR. BURTON: Sam, you're like famous today. (Laughter.)

Q: But granted that there are many things the administration has accomplished which people on the left have not given sufficient credit for or recognized, at the same time, there are some -- there's some frustration on the left with issues such as "don't ask, don't tell." It's still there, hasn't been -- the Employee Free Choice Act, no action.

MR. BURTON: Do you think this is awkward because you might be a member of the professional left?

Q: I guess you could call me that -- Defense of Marriage Act, the war in Afghanistan and the expansion of it, no public plan option in the health care bill. These are things that people talk about. And you say, though, this is a small issue. I mean, do you really think those are small issues or legitimate beefs?

MR. BURTON: I think that we can have a conversation about the progress that we've made on important issues and the progress that still needs to be made. And that doesn't mean that we haven't effectively been able to advance our ideals in this administration. The President has spent these first 20 months doing exactly what he said he was going to do on a wide range of issues.

And on some of those things, we are actually making quite a bit of progress. So are people going to have disagreements about pace? Are they going to have disagreements about what goes in what order? Yes, of course they are. And of course we are in the Democratic Party. There's a strength in the diversity of opinions that Democrats have. And that's not a problem. That's not an issue. That's something that we're proud of.

Q: So even you would admit, even from the left, there are some legitimate concerns on certain issues and a frustration --

MR. BURTON: I would say that there are legitimate --

Q: -- that the administration hasn't acted --

MR. BURTON: I would say that there are legitimate disagreements.

Jon Ward.

Q: Thanks, Bill. The congressman from California, George Miller, today said that the stimulus was not big enough. He said it should have been over a trillion dollars and he raised the prospect of a double-dip recession. As the President has talked about the stimulus and the pace of the recovery, has there been any expression by him or other economic advisors that they wish that the stimulus would have been larger?

MR. BURTON: Well, for sure, that it's not a new position for Congressman Miller. He was saying that it should have been over a trillion dollars at the time it was first being discussed.

No, the discussion -- the White House is finding every fiscally responsible way we can to create an environment where we're creating jobs and to save the jobs that we can.

Savannah.

Q: Do you think extending the Bush tax cuts will create jobs?

MR. BURTON: I think that if you -- the administration's position is that if you extend tax cuts for middle-class families, you're putting money into pockets of people who will spend that money in places where you're creating jobs.

Q: Do you think that the job-creation argument would also extend to extending the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans?

MR. BURTON: No, I don't. Our economists have looked at this, independent economists have looked at this, and extending those tax cuts do not guarantee the same kind of economic growth, the same kind of economic activity that it does for middle-class folks.

Q: And then real quick on the Gulf Coast trip, if an outside observer were to look at how long the President and the First Lady are spending in the Gulf Coast and conclude that they were seeming to spend the bare minimum of time there to get credit for going, your response would be what?

MR. BURTON: I would say they've already spent a lot of time in the Gulf. They're really looking forward to spending some more time in the Gulf. It's a beautiful part of the country, and the President looks forward to getting down there, like I said, eating the food -- the seafood, hanging out with the great folks who live there, and taking a look at how things are going for those folks?

Q: Can you do that in one day?

MR. BURTON: It's two days, and yes.

Q: With regards to BP, what sort of collateral do you want them to put up to back up the $20 billion fund?

MR. BURTON: This is an issue that's being worked out between BP and the trustees.

Q: Any names that you can tell us that you're considering to replace Christina Romer?

MR. BURTON: No, not at this point. Other Sheryl.

Q: There's a report -- the news -- the AP that Senator Stevens was killed in the place crash, according to the spokesman for the family. And I'm just wondering if you wanted to update your comments on that.

MR. BURTON: Like I said, we hope to have some information on that soon. Our hearts and -- our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families who suffered a loss today. We'll have more information soon.

Q: Thank you.

MR. BURTON: Thank you.

END 2:31 P.M. EDT