Uhh, through it all, it's been, uhh — I, I have, umm, respected you. Umm, sometimes didn't like the stories that you wrote or reported on. Sometimes you, umm, misunderestimated me. But, always the relationship I have felt has been professional. And, uhh, I appreciate it.

He is, uhh — you know, I've had a — my third conversation with him, and, uhh, I, I, I, I generally mean what I say, I, I — wish him all the very best. I've found him to be a very smart and engaging person.

There have been disappointments. Abu Gareb obviously was a huge disappointment during the presidency. Umm. Not havin' weapons of mass destruction was a significant disappointment. I don't know if you wanna call those mistakes or not, but they were — things didn't go according to plan, let's put it that way.

My view is is that, most people around the world, they respect America. And some of 'em doesn't like me, I understand that — some of the writers and the, you know, opiners and all that. That's fine. That's part of the deal.

I believe that runnin' the Social Security idea right after the '04 elections was a mistake. I should've — should've argued for immigration reform. And the reason why is, is that — you know, one of the lessons I learned as governor of Texas, by the way, is legislative branches tend to be risk-adverse. In other words, sometimes legislatures have the tendency to ask, why should I take on a hard task when the crisis is not eminent? And, umm, the crisis was not eminent for Social Security as far as many members of Congress was concerned.

DUBYA: Clearly one of the most important parts of my job, because of 9/11, was to defend the security of the American people. There have been no attacks since I've been the president, since 9/11. One of the ma — major theaters against al Qaeda turns out to have been Iraq. This is where al Qaeda said they were gonna take their stand. This is where al Qaeda was hopin' to take —
RADDATZ: But not until after the U.S. invaded.
DUBYA: Yeah, that's — that, that's right. So what? The point is that al Qaeda said they're gonna take a stand. Well, first of all, in the post-11 environment Saddam Hussein posed a threat. And then, upon removal, al Qaeda decides to take a stand, and they, they're, they're, they're getting, they're becoming defeated, and I think, I think history will say that one, the world was better off without Saddam. Two, along with the Iraqi troops, we have denied al Qaeda a safe haven, because a young democracy's beginning to grow, which will be an important sign for people in the Middle East.

As our days in the White House wind down, we're going thoo a series of lasts. I pardoned my last Thanksgiving turkey. Laura decorated for her last Christmas in the White House. And Barney bit his last reporter.

This system can now defend America against limited missile attacks from Northeast Asia. Concluded agreements with Poland and Czech Republic, to establish missile defense sites on their territories, to help protect against ballissile-missile attacks from the Middle East. 'Cause we acted, America now has an initial capability — protect our people from a ballistic missile attack.

The battle in Iraq has been longer and more difficult than expected. Foreign terrorists, former regime elements, and Iraqi insurgents, often with outside support, combined to drive up violence, and bring the country to the verge of chaos. So we adopted a new strategy, and raather than retreating, sent more troops into Baghdad, in Iraq. And when the surge met its objective, we began to bring our troops home under a policy of return on success. Last week, Iraq approved two agreements that formalize diplomatic and economic and security ties with America, and set a framework for the drawdowing of American forces as the fight in Iraq nears a successful end. Fourth, America recognized the only way to defeat the terrorists in the long run is to present an alternative to their hite — hateful ideology. So when we overthoo the dictators in Afghanistan and Iraq, we refused to take the easy option and instill friendly strongmen in their place.

We also took a — hard look at the danger posed by Iraq, a country that combined support for terror, the development and the use of weapons of mass destruction, violence against its own people, aggression against its neighbors, hostility to the United States, and ss — systemic violation of United Nations resolutions.

When we sit down at the summit table tomorrow, we bring clear priorities. Tomorrow's discussion will be the first in a series of meetings. It will focus on key five objectives.

The American people expect the nomination process to be as free of partisanship as possible, and for senators to rive above tricks and gimmicks designed to thwart nominees.

To help address challenges in the housing and financial markets, we announced temporary steps to help stabilize them and increase confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These two enterprises play a central role in our housing finance system, so Treasury Paulson has worked with the Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, so that the companies and the government regulators, uhh — put the companies and the government regulators on a plan to strengthen these enterprises.

Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We've heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tahnks — tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided. We have an obligation to call this what it is, the false comfort of appeasement.

I thought it was important to welcome these champs here to the White House, so that, uhh — you know, it's, to encourage people to fish. There's nothin' better than fishin', I had a fantastic experience — uhh — with, uhh, Alton and our friend, umm, Charlie Pack. He was a — he was a famous local fisherman. And, uhh, he said, do you wanna go fishin' with a fella named Jones? I say yeah, I've never heard of him, there's a lotta people named Jones. It turns out the man I was fishin' with is the — wins the Bassmaster Classic.

Uhh, Mr. Ambassador, thanks for comin'. Ambassador, uh, Meh, Ma, Mallias is will us today. Mister Amb — there you are, right there, Ambassador. Thank you. It's good to see your wife. Appreciate you all bein' here. Ambassador, uhh, Kukouris of, umm — uhh, to Cyprus is with us — from Cyprus to U.S. is with us. Senator, thank you for comin'. It's good to see you again.

SUSIE GHARIB (PBS): Umm, why the hesitation about the "R" word? Isn't it time to call it what it is?
DUYBA: Well, because, uhh, you know, there's a, there's a definition for the "R" word, and we hadn't reached the definition, and secondly, uhh, I am confident in the long-term growth of the country. Uhh, umm, I — if, if you want me to say we're in a tough patch, having a tough time, it's — bad, eh, you know, it's a, ta — times are rough — I'll say all those three, because that's the truth. And the key the American people have got to know is, raather than, you know, fretting, we moved, and we moved a very robust, pro-growth pa, ahh, package, uhh, that, uhh, will — you know, will start movin' money into the economy quickly. Uhh, by the second week of May, people start getting their rebate checks, plus we sent a signal to businesses large and small that there'll be additional incentives this year for you to invest, which — uhh, I think will lead to jobs.

Welcome. Laura and I are glad you're here. Uhh, Rex, thank you for taking the lead for Ford's Theatre. Uhh, if, uhh, our, any citizen wants to know how ta — uhh, make a solid contribution to Washington, D.C., support Ford's Theatre. It's worth it. Uh, members of my Cabinet, thanks for comin'. Members of Congress, we're glad you're here. I've got two, two task. One is to present the Lincoln Medal, and, uhh, invite you to a buffet.

Thank you all for coming. I just met, umm, with my Cabinet, where we discussed — a lotta issues, and one issue we discussed was the budget, I — submitted the budget today to Congress. It's on a — a laptop notebook, an e-budget. It saves paper, saves trees, saves money. I think it's the first budget submitted electronically. And it's a good budget.

There is no doubt in my mind when history was written, the final page will say victory was achieved by the United States of America for the good of the world.

I 'ppreciate what this, uhh, Third Army did in World War II. I hope you do too, as well. After all, you're members of Patton's own. Played a vital role in the destruction of the Nazi war machine. They helped liberate about 12,000 towns, at least that's according to the history of the Third Army. From their noble ranks came soldiers with some of our nation's highest directors, including 19 recipients of the Medal of Honor. You repre — distinguished history, and you're makin' history yourselves.