Robert Lane Gibbs

“ Two questions, Robert -- one on the executive orders and one on the economy. Just so the American people have an understanding, if, for example, U.S. forces were to capture Osama bin Laden or someone less well known but of operational significance, are they to understand, the American people, that only the Field Manual -- the Field Manual only will be the interrogation method used to interrogate a target as valuable, potentially, as Osama bin Laden or someone of that operational significance? ”

“ Let me -- I am prepared to say -- and I'll reiterate what the President said throughout the campaign and transition -- that the President will do everything possible to prevent a financial catastrophe, to ensure the working of the financial system, to get credit and lending moving again, to create -- or save or create 3-4 million jobs, to get the economy moving again.
The President comes to work each and every day and understands right now that he has to work, his team has to work, and Congress has to work on passing an economic plan that gets the economy moving again. ”

“ I think what the President was demonstrating was that the American story has always been that when the American people come together across any sort of line to work together, that even in a country that faces challenges, problems and hardships, that working together we can get past those hardships and pass on to the next generation a country that's stronger than the one we inherited. ”

“ Well, let me not get ahead of an economic team that's going to be making recommendations to the President. I know that the President, as I stated a minute ago, believes that we'll do what is necessary to ensure financial stability, that banks that get capital are lending that capital; as you mentioned, that we address the home foreclosure crisis that millions of Americans -- whether they're in those homes or live near those homes -- whether that impacts them every day, that we're working on that. ”

“ The President believes that there's no more important job that he has than to keep the American people safe, that everybody that works in this building and in this administration knows of his strong belief and understands its importance.
The President believes that what he did today will enhance the security of the American people, that it lives up to our values as Americans, and that it will protect the men and women that we have in uniform. This was done through long consultations, as Greg talked about with folks in and out of government. ”

“ I think you can be assured and the American people can be assured that the President is working throughout the day every day to ensure that a rescue plan and a financial stability package are implemented quickly. ”

“ Those are the principles that the economic team has been working with. Those are principles that were forwarded to the Senate last week to -- in preparation for the vote on the second $350 billion. Larger decisions on how exactly to use that money going forward are part of an ongoing process that the economic team is formulating so that the President can make some decisions on.
[REPORTER] : I have a follow-up. Are you not prepared today to say that it would be an administration benchmark not to allow any major financial institution in this country to fail? ”

“ Some Republicans on Capitol Hill are already complaining about the Guantanamo decision, saying that what's going to happen is you're going to have a lot of people transferred to countries overseas, they're going to be released for one reason or another, and they're going to go right back to waging war against American troops. ”

“ The President has a BlackBerry, through a compromise that allows him to stay in touch with senior staff and a small group of personal friends in a way that use will be limited and that the security is enhanced to ensure his ability to communicate, but to do so effectively and to do so in a way that is protected. ”

“ In addition to the military component that was at the meeting, you had former Ambassador Burns, who's at the State Department -- obviously Ambassador Crocker was involved in the meeting -- to discuss the political developments, both currently and going forward in Iraq, and what adjustments have to be done as it relates to that side of the equation.
The status of forces agreement that was -- been approved by the Iraqis sets forth an end date for our military involvement in Iraq. ”

“ And I don't want to get in front of the recommendations that the economic team might make as it relates to that.
Helen.
[REPORTER] : Is the President against torture?
GIBBS: Yes.
[REPORTER] : And is the goal of these executive orders against torture, which the President says he believed in? ”