Press Gaggle by Dana Perino

Aboard Air Force One
En Route Texas

3:32 P.M. CDT

MS. PERINO: Okay. Good afternoon. We are finished with the Katrina trip; lots of events, lots of activities. I know you all have worked very hard and everyone is hot, probably tired, and hungry. So we'll do this fast before we land. It's a very short flight, so I wanted to get back here quickly.

Does anyone have any questions? It was a pretty full day and you heard from the President a lot, but anything on your minds?

Q: Do you have anything on the President of Iran wanting to have a televised debate with Bush?

MS. PERINO: On a debate? Well, I talked to your colleagues earlier today and provided them comment. The question was regarding Ahmadinejad wanting to debate the President. And I think that the -- I would refer you back to Secretary Rice and the President, who have both said that Iran knows very well what it needs to do. The P5 plus one partners are talking, and instead of debating the President, it might be interesting to see an opportunity for open debate in Iran, itself, rather than worrying about a debate with the President.

Q: What's the speech on Thursday? Are you going to preview that today or tomorrow?

MS. PERINO: I don't have it for you at the moment, but I'll be able to do it in the gaggle tomorrow morning. It's at the American Legion; it will be war on terror.

Q: Secretary Rumsfeld today said that critics of the administration's war plan are morally and intellectually -- I'm sorry, I'm forgetting the exact quote. Anybody got it? Morally and intellectually -- can anybody help me with the quote of Rumsfeld? Nobody's got it? Okay -- anybody got it? That's helpful, isn't it?

Q: Well, let's find it real quick.

Q: In the meantime, are we going to Texas for any reason, other than just a way station?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think it makes sense. We were in New Orleans; the President is going to Arkansas and Tennessee tomorrow; so staying the night in Crawford made a lot more sense than going back to D.C. I think that the President answered a question to Brian Williams on that earlier.

I have not seen Secretary Rumsfeld's comments, so I can't provide you the quote either. I'll let the Secretary speak for himself.

Okay. We might have just had a record, the fastest gaggle on Air Force One. Okay. Bye.

END 3:38 P.M. CDT