Lawrence Ari Fleischer

“ Isn't there anything that the White House feels sensitive about telling donors you give us money, you get to see these people, very special people, very close people to the President, and having the ear that you might not otherwise have if you didn't write a check? ”

“ Q Some campaign finance experts I've talked to have taken your point and say, you know, at this stage, perhaps it's not improper for a president to have a thank you event for people who have supported him during a recently-concluded campaign. But the point they also make is that in the future, it would raise serious questions if this administration continued to provide access to Cabinet secretaries, use the Vice President's residence, use other parts of this vast apparatus to court or deal with donors. ”

“ The President has chosen to show his support for it by urging Congress to pass campaign finance reform. And he calls on Congress to pass it once more. Q When you have a policy that tells potential donors, signals to potential donors that they will be thanked in the White House or thanked in the Vice President's office or thanked in a Cabinet secretary's office if they donate money, aren't you using the offices, those offices to raise money? MR. FLEISCHER: No. I think, again, there's a distinction that people understand, and it's a simple distinction. ”

“ And the President wants to listen to their concerns, but also convince them that his approach to education, which is based on accountability, which is based on testing every year in grades 3 through 8, based on consolidation of several programs so states and localities have more control, is the best route to take. ”

“ Would this White House be comfortable with a call -- I believe it's from Congressman Waxman -- for a congressional investigation of what too place last night at the NAVOBS? MR. FLEISCHER: Well, John, I think I've answered the questions about what the purpose of the meeting was, and why the meeting took place. ”

“ Clearly, there are some Democrats, a bipartisan majority, who agree with the President, are working hard with the President to secure tax relief. There may be some other Democrats, unfortunately, who are dragging their feet, and they're engaged in stalling tactics. ”

“ Q One more thing on education, if I may. There were people who were talking today about an amendment to try to get private school vouchers back into this bill, some saying the President should not sign it if it does not have that. For the Republicans who believe the President should not sign a bill without private school vouchers, what does he say? MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the President believes strongly that the private -- that the proposal involving school choice should be a part of the bill that is sent to him. That was part of his initial proposal he sent to Congress. ”

“ The President welcomes the statement by Prime Minister Sharon. It is vital in order to bring the parties together and to secure peace in the Middle East that the parties in the region unequivocally speak out and call for a cessation of the violence. ”

“ But there is one major difference. Q What is it? MR. FLEISCHER: As we all learned that the reason that the Clinton administration gave for those events was not quite what those events were. They said they were doing maintenance events, and they were actually ways of raising money on an ongoing, regular basis. That's clearly not the case with this new administration. Q But, Ari, if I could pick up that line of questioning, they made the very same distinction that you're making or that others at the RNC have made. ”

“ Q It's been reported that some of the top donors tonight are energy industry lobbyists -- a lot of them actually. I'm wondering how that affects the President's efforts to convince people that he's got a balanced energy plan and not a giveaway to the administration? ”