2001 US press briefings
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
12:17 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good afternoon. I have a series of personnel announcements I'd like to make. The President intends to nominate Donald J. McConnell to be Ambassador Extraordinary Plenipotentiary of the United States to Eritrea. The President intends to nominate Stephen A. Cambone to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. The President intends to nominate Cam Findley to be Deputy Secretary of Labor. The final announcement, the President intends to nominate Lori A. Forman to be Assistant Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development for Asia and the Near East.
That's the end of my opening, I'm prepared to take your questions. Hearing none, thank you. (Laughter.)
Q Ari, I know 100 days isn't your favorite benchmark for judging an administration, but since people will be writing the story, can you give us your assessment of the first 100 days?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I can give you my assessment of the first 94. I think the President is very pleased with several things: the changing of the tone in Washington, D.C.; increasing sense of bipartisanship, certainly when compared with the previous times; the success he's had substantively; the Senate Education Committee having already passed his education plan, his number one priority; his tax relief plan, and by that sense I mean the marginal income tax rate cuts that have already been voted on and approved by the House of Representatives; the reduction of the marriage penalty as approved by the House of Representatives; the elimination of death taxes is approved in the House of Representatives; the doubling of the child credit.
Many items on the President's agenda are already moving forward and are doing so at a very healthy pace, particularly given the previous way as Congress deliberated. And so the President is very pleased with that.
He's pleased by, as I indicated, the bipartisanship and the tone is changing. Toward that point, on the 100th day, on Monday in the White House, the President will be hosting a lunch for all 535 members of Congress to come down. And the President views this as, as he would put it, "our" first 100 days, not "his" first 100 days, because any successes that are enjoyed as a result of passing his agenda are thanks to members of Congress from both parties who worked with him to get it done.
So just as he's done in Texas, where he brought all members of the legislature together to commemorate the first 100 days, he will mark the first 100 days of this administration with members of Congress from both parties invited to the White House for lunch.
Q Can I follow that? Any disappointments, anything he would have done differently?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I'll leave disappointments, I'll leave things done differently to others. I'll just describe to you the President's approach to what he sees.
Q Ari, though, many of the things you've listed simply made their way through the House, they haven't yet been acted upon by the Senate. And negotiators on the education package met over the weekend, long, long hours, not any real sense of progress. The bottom line is there's not anything from the campaign that he's been able to sit in the Rose Garden and sign into law. Is he -- had he hoped to have done that by now? Is he disappointed that he hasn't had the chance to sign any of these landmark pieces of legislation?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, of course, that's why it's an interesting measure, 100 days. Who chose 100? Why 100, other than the fact that it's a round number? Many scholars have indicated that to measure properly the legislative progress, being measured by a President's signature, 180 days is the more accurate time period. There's a lot of scholarly weight behind that.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of people who are interested in 100 days, and so I'm going to take the questions and give the best answer.
But I want to remind everybody here of something that's very important. President Bush was elected in an exceedingly close election, and people said that the President does not have a mandate, that he won't be able to govern. And I think what you're seeing here in these 100 days, because of the manner in which the President has toned it down in Washington, because of the way he's reaching out and working with others -- the education plan is a perfect example -- because of this new approach to governing, a tremendous amount of progress has been made within these 100 days. And the progress that is laid out now is going to lead to more progress later. And that's, again, one of the most encouraging factors of this first 100 days.