Q The memo says he wanted a war, basically that he was determined, and there were no weapons found.But that was really little more than a minor dust-up, compared to the major confrontation she had with Bush at a press conference about a week earlier. Even juicier excerpt:
MR. McCLELLAN: No, Helen, that's not an accurate assessment, and you know it. Because you covered --
Q Is this memo wrong?
Q I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet -- your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth -- what was your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil -- quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?Thomas doesn't get voted Miss Congenality in Bush's Washington for publicly reminding Bush of the difference between Afghanistan and Iraq. For every pundit who applauded her performance, one or two more attacked her behavior as "unprofessional" or "improper."
THE PRESIDENT: I think your premise -- in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist -- is that -- I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect --
Q Everything --
THE PRESIDENT: Hold on for a second, please.
Q -- everything I've heard --
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, excuse me. No President wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true. My attitude about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th. We -- when we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people. Our foreign policy changed on that day, Helen. You know, we used to think we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy. But we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. And I'm never going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American people that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.
Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq -- hold on for a second --
Q They didn't do anything to you, or to our country.
THE PRESIDENT: Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where al Qaeda trained --
Q I'm talking about Iraq --
So when she takes the President on, Thomas doesn't expect roses. Which is what made it so cool that she received 108 dozen roses (yes, the number's correct) from an internet campaign organized by Democratic activists:
(photo credit: The Hill)
The full story is here. (Hat tip, as well, to AmericaBlog for spreading the word.) Thomas sent this reply to the senders:
"Blessed are the peacemakers. The bounty of beautiful roses from such wonderful people has lifted my heart and will remain in my memory for the rest of my life. Thank you for caring that others may live."Class act.
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