Lawrence Ari Fleischer

“ But the President believes that nobody, Democrat or Republican, should risk defeating the vital protections that patients need in dealing with HMOs in an effort to put in a poison pill that deals with legal liability issues that would derail the bill and prevent it from being signed into law. There is so much good, there is so much common ground, there is so much agreement between the President and the Democrats and Republicans on patient protections. ”

“ And the President is committed to working closely to help California. He took the emergency marketing orders earlier in the year to provide natural gas and electricity to the California market. And as I indicated earlier, he has asked FERC to make sure that they're vigilantly monitoring any of the problems in California, that they make sure there is no illegal price gouging. The President doesn't think that this problem is one that knows political parties. He thinks it's a problem that all people, Democrats and Republicans alike, have to join together and solve. ”

“ The Navy has come under some criticism for training elsewhere in the world -- Okinawa, for example. Would it be a good strategy to have them agree to leave that island in order to create an incentive to find new training areas in Okinawa and other places around the world? MR. FLEISCHER: If you remember Mr. Kinsolving's insightful follow-up question, I answered by saying that the decision on Vieques is handled uniquely, it's handled on the merits of this particular case. And that's why the President made the decision. ”

“ If something is market-based, it is working within the market to create the greatest efficiency, so that the suppliers and the producers have an incentive to keep developing their supplies, and bringing them to the market, so people can afford them and people can buy them. ”

“ Q The problem they're concerned about is that if the White House position is offering them a limited range of options -- House members -- and that an unyielding insistence on price controls could cause problems down the road for about a handful of California Republicans who come from districts that are getting hammered -- MR. FLEISCHER: The President at all times will make his decision on what he thinks are the right decisions and wrong decisions, and focus on the merits. ”

“ He does not think that is a way to protect people's health needs and he does not think that's a way to keep health costs down, to keep health premiums at reasonable rates so more people can afford health insurance. If all of a sudden the trial lawyers can have their way with everything dealing with health care, premium prices will shoot up. When you have massive jury awards, somebody has to pay that bill. And that's why the President supports reasonable caps on non-economic damages. Q Ari, what you're calling a poison pill really is the heart of the McCain-Kennedy bill. ”

“ In cases in the U.S. Attorney's Office in which the facts would support charging a crime punishable by death, capital charges were no more likely to be brought against minority defendants than against white defendants. Rather, in potential capital cases, the proportion of defendants who were actually charged with capital crimes were 81 percent for white defendants, 79 percent for black defendants, and 56 percent for Hispanic defendants. ”

“ The President has always stated that what is important is that the United States military be able to carry out its mission, which is why the President has taken this action through the Department of Navy, with the President's concurrence, through May of 2003. ”

“ But if a solution can be found that is a market-based solution, to prevent spike-ups, for example, to send a signal to producers and generators that if they, for any reason, try to temporarily withhold supplies from the markets in an attempt to create a price spike, FERC could take action. The President supports market-based programs and market-based incentives. ”

“ He thinks it's terribly important that we are able to get prescription drugs to senior citizens and that we are able to reform a program that was written and has remained largely unchanged since its original construct back in the early '60s, while health care has changed so dramatically since then. ”

“ The President thinks it's very important for all parties to want to work together. He thinks it would be unfortunate if anybody ever said there is no room for compromise. The President is prepared to work with the Congress, but it has to be efforts that are focused, always, on patient protections, not on trial lawyer protections. Q Ari, FERC today is going to -- apparently going to approve this plan that would expand price limits on energy to 10 other western states and cover non-emergency sales. ”

“ Well, it's important when you're dealing with military training exercises is that they be effective. And, clearly, it was getting to a point on the Island of Vieques where the effectiveness was coming into question. And the only purpose of carrying out a military exercise is for it to be effective. Q But my question, tho, are you -- is this administration encouraging or trying to convince Republican lawmakers to "undo" this legislation and not go forward with the referendum? ”

“ If they don't have an incentive to produce supplies, then of course you're going to have a diminution of the supply, and therefore the price will go even higher. Q But isn't government intervention in the market just government intervention? ”

“ It's important for everybody to comply with ethics rules. That's the answer. It is not illegal to meet. It's important to comply with ethics rules. Q Sort of on the same issue, but different -- on Karl Rove. In the decision to suspend bombing on Vieques, why was it that Karl Rove, a political strategist by training and title, was so intimately involved in that decision making process? ”