Lawrence Ari Fleischer

“ The President makes his decisions on the merits; he makes his decisions on what he believes is in the national interest. For example, there are many people who are seeking business tax credits, or business tax breaks on the tax bill. ”

“ And I think that also when Presidents talk to former Presidents, whether they're father-son, or whether a President is talking to a predecessor of no relation, there is a tradition in some areas, it's not always, but a tradition in many times, for those conversations to be private. ”

“ Is it the U.S.'s position that we will continue to exercise our right to fly in that particular airspace? And my second question is also on a separate subject. Do you have a reaction to the fighting in the Middle East, which has hit kind of a very high point at this level? ”

“ We seek to continue to have meetings with the servicemen and women, right up to the point where they are, indeed, brought home. We will continue to have diplomatic conversations, both in Washington and Beijing. So there will be a series of conversations and we will continue to -- the United States government will continue to pursue them. Q Do you expect the President to have anything further to say today? MR. FLEISCHER: No word for you yet on whether the President will have anything further to say today. Q But it's possible? MR. FLEISCHER: Anything is possible ”

“ The first thing would be to meet with the crew; in order to determine the cause of an accident, it's imperative to talk to the people involved. Q I have a follow-up on that. You said that the United States did nothing wrong. Is there any evidence that China did anything wrong that led to this accident? MR. FLEISCHER: Ron, the United States government has said that this was an accident, and again, in order to ascertain the exact reasons why an accident took place, the first step needs to be to talk to the crew. ”

“ That represents an increase of $5.4 billion, which would double the number of people who are typically uninsured who are served by community health centers. A community access program will also be a part of the President's budget. ”

“ Q Ari, there are differences on Capitol Hill, even among Republicans, about views toward China; some are pro-business, some more hard-lined. Is this, in any way, affecting the decision-making here? MR. FLEISCHER: No. The President's focus, as I indicated earlier, is on the most productive way to get our men and women home. And he is determined to get that done and that is his focus. ”

“ And on the child programs, there are increases under the HHS budget for the child programs, as well, in addition to a doubling of the child credit. So there are a host of programs in the President's budget that make it easier for parents to get insurance for their children; insurance for themselves, if they're uninsured; as well as programs to help them raise their children. Q Ari, there is a report today that the President's decision on carbon dioxide emissions was routed through the Legislative Affairs Director, Nicholas Calio. ”