I appreciate the Mayor of Columbus, Georgia, Mayor Wetherington. Mr. Mayor, thank you for being here. Thanks for coming. Mayor Hardin, of Phenix City, Alabama has joined us. Mr. Mayor, appreciate you coming. I know you didn't ask, neither of the Mayors asked, but sometimes I like to remind them, just go ahead and fill the potholes. I'm not suggesting there are any, it's just my advice.

Last night I also talked about Anbar Province. It's important for the American people to understand al Qaeda still is in Iraq. As a matter of fact, they made it clear their ambitions in Iraq. These are the same folks that came and killed about 3,000 of our citizens. Their goal in Iraq is to topple the government, topple democracy.

We've got a lot of really fine troops fighting al Qaeda and we're making progress. There's a lot of pressure on them in Anbar. Interestingly enough, a lot of sheikhs have decided to join in the fight against al Qaeda. They're tired of foreigners and killers in their midst. That's what the commanders have told me. And they believe we have a good opportunity to really crush this group of folks.

I made a statement last night that I had ordered the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the region. I also talked about Patriot missile systems in the region, to help others deal with the external threats. We will use our full diplomatic resources throughout the Middle East.

The best way to defeat the totalitarian of hate is with an ideology of hope — an ideology of hate — excuse me — with an ideology of hope.

I appreciate the Chaplain for the Navy — excuse me, for the Marine Corps. I didn't mean to insult you.

The reason why the border is necessary is because there's suiciders coming in from Syria into Iraq.

We are dismantling the operators. And when we find them, we bring them to justice as quickly as we can. That's the short-term strategy. There's also the strategy of making it clear, if you harbor a terrorist — the short-term strategy of dealing with threats before they come to hurt us — I say, before they fully materialize.

It seems like to me that if somebody is talking to Al Qaeda, we want to know why.

In order to safeguard the civil liberties of the people, we have this [NSA domestic eavesdropping] program fully scrutinized on a regular basis. It's been authorized, reauthorized many times. We got lawyers looking at it from different branches of government.

I fully expect in a democracy — I expect and, frankly, welcome the voices of people saying, you know, Mr. President, you shouldn't have made that decision, or, you know, you should have done it a better way. I understand that. What I don't like is when somebody said, he lied. Or, they're in there for oil. Or they're doing it because of Israel. That's the kind of debate that basically says the mission and the sacrifice were based on false premise. It's one thing to have a philosophical difference — and I can understand people being abhorrent about war. War is terrible. But one way people can help as we're coming down the pike in the 2006 elections, is remember the effect that rhetoric can have on our troops in harm's way, and the effect that rhetoric can have in emboldening or weakening an enemy.

That's part of — that's part of the advice my new National Economic Council head will be giving me as to whether or not we need to — here is the plan, or here is an idea for a plan, or why don't you just fix it. I suspect given my nature, I'll want to be — the White House will be very much involved with — I have an obligation to lead on this issue — I think this will be an administrative-driven idea — to take it on. And therefore, that that be the case, I have the responsibility to provide the political cover necessary for members, I have the responsibility to make the case if there is a problem, and I have the responsibility to lay out potential solutions. Now, to the specificity of which, we'll find out — you'll find out with time.

SONYA STONE: I would like to introduce my mom. This is my mother, Rhoda Stone. And she is grandmother of three, and originally from Helsinki, Finland, and has been here over 40 years.
DUBYA: Fantastic. Same age as my mother.
SONYA STONE: Just turned 80.

I want it to be said that the Bush administration was a results-oriented administration, because I believe the results of focusing our attention and energy on teaching children to read and having an education system that's responsive to the child and to the parents, as opposed to mired in a system that refuses to change, will make America what we want it to be, a literate country and a hopefuller country.

I will have a vice president who can become the president. ...I will have a vice president that agrees with my policy. I'm going to have a vice president that likes me.

Rarely is the question asked, are, is our children learning?

Governor Bush will not stand for the subsidation of failure.