From: barrett@cc.gatech.edu (James Barrett)
Subject: BUSH: Good Morning America text - 10/5
Reply-To: barrett@cc.gatech.edu (James Barrett)
Organization: Georgia Tech College of Computing
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 19:58:07 GMT

                Bush: A Lot of Second Guessing
    The following is the text of President Bush on ABC-TV's Good Morning America program Monday Oct 5, 1992.
    President Bush was interviewed by ABC's Charles Gibson.
    GIBSON: As he did last week, President Bush has agreed to
 join us from the White House this week for a series of
 discussions of some of the more important issues in this
 campaign. And the topic this morning is education.
    Mr. President, good to have you with us again. 
    BUSH: Glad to be here, sir.
    QUESTION: Before we turn to education, a couple of quick
 questions on issues. A new tax bill has come out of
 conference over the weekend, presumably going to pass the
 House and Senate. Are you going to veto it?
    BUSH: Well, I'm not sure. There were some
 technical changes in it. I have some real reservations about
 part of it. But the problem is they always send me something
 that has come of the things I want and then load it up with,
 in this instance, taxes.
    So I'll have to wait and see what final form it is in.
 Because there are some things in there I like, and have been
 fighting for. This makes a good case for the line item veto,
 doesn't it. I mean they pack it up with some of the good
 things the country needs, and then load in some things like
 higher taxes, and I'm going to have difficulty there.
    But I'll have to reserve on it, because I really have not
 seen the final version.
    QUESTION: But the reason people watch it so carefully, 
 obviously, is because of things you have said in the
 campaign about new taxes.
    There are tax breaks in it, tax cuts over 5 years of
 about $27 billion. There are also tax increases to offset
 those. Do you, in principle, object to those tax increases?
    BUSH: Well, I have to look at exactly what they
 are. But in principle I object to tax increases, yes.
    QUESTION: All right. But you won't--you wouldn't make--or
 declare now that you're going to veto it on that basis.
    BUSH: Not yet. But I'll have to look at it. Our 
 people are taking a look at the final technical adjustments
 on this kind of legislation. Then we'll see what happens.
    QUESTION: Okay. Also, on CNN last night you said that--or
 implied that Governor Clinton had pushed for some friendly
 loans to Iraq just before the Gulf war. The Governor
 responded and used the word "pathetic" in what you were
 doing, saying that you were referring to just a courtesy
 call that the Iraqi ambassador made to his office 5 or
 6 years before the war.
    Were you implying that the governor had done anything 
 wrong?
    BUSH: No. But what I was implying was that he
 and many others were encouraging grain sales to Iraq. And so
 were we. And now we're being 2d guessed on that policy, not
 only by Governor Clinton, but by Senator Gore and others.
    But it's ironic, isn't it, that the Iraqi ambassador
 meets with the governor of Arkansas, unless the governor of
 Arkansas has something to do with encouraging rice sales,
 grain sales, to Iraq.
    I'm just pointing that out, because there's an awful lot 
 of 2d guessing, Charlie. We tried to get Saddam Hussein to
 join the family of nations. And we tried to using grain
 sales, credits for grain sales to Iraq. And I believe that
 Governor Clinton was supportive of that. That's all I was
 trying to say, because I don't think I was doing anything
 wrong. I know very well I wasn't.
    QUESTION: Let me turn to education.
    BUSH: Yes.
    QUESTION: Where do you and Governor Clinton disagree?
    BUSH: I'm not sure. I must confess that when 
 you look at Arkansas' record, where 75 % of the college
 graduates have to have remedial reading and remedial
 education at the college level, I think the record in
 Arkansas has been pretty bad.
    Now, in fairness, Governor Clinton helped get through our
 6 national education goals that form the background for my
 innovative, revolutionary American education program known
 as America 2000.
    So in that case he was for us.
    But the performance in his state has been pretty 
 pathetic. Having said that, we've got a very good national
 program because it revolutionizes education, gets around the
 bureaucracy and empowers teachers and communities. It's a
 good one, Charlie.
    QUESTION: Let me come back to that statistic you just
 cited, because that's a new one. I haven't heard that yet,
 in the campaign. There are statistics that fly back and
 forth.
    BUSH: Oh, they're terrible.
    QUESTION: What was it again? 
    BUSH: 75 % of the graduates, when they get to
 college, need remedial education.
    QUESTION: Where does that come from, do you know?
    BUSH: 2 Arkansas newspapers, I can't give you
 the exact source. As Bill about it. Ask the governor about
 it.
    QUESTION: All right, I will.
    You also have talked a lot of about choice in this
 campaign.
    BUSH: Yes.
    QUESTION: And you're favoring choice, not only for people
 to be able to spend vouchers or to send children to whatever
 public school they may want, but also to have vouchers to
 send children to private schools if they want.
    BUSH: Exactly.
    QUESTION: That's controversial with some people. Some
 people say it would skim the really quality students out of
 the public schools and leave the public schools really with
 the less qualified students.
    BUSH: But it worked for the GI bill, didn't it?
 In fact I think most state universities were enhanced by the
 GI bill which empowered recipients to choose religious,
 private, or public institutions. It will work at elementary
 and secondary education levels too.
    So I would just simply cite the success that it's had,
 and I strongly favor choice. And it's ironic that again here
 I go with statistics. I better be careful, but it's
 something like 46 % of the public school officials in 
 Chicago send their kids to private school. That's not
 snobbish, they just want the best.
    And it's my view that if you give parents choice, give
 the parents the choice, that'll help the schools that are
 not chosen, because they'll have to become more competitive.
 We've seen it work in Milwaukee, seen it in Rochester.
    QUESTION: When you make the equation though to the GI
 bill, you are comparing it to post-secondary education, to
 collegiate education or to higher education.
    BUSH: Yes. 
    QUESTION: And now you're talking about using it in
 primary schools, and secondary schools.
    Why are you certain that it would work?
    BUSH: Because it worked in the higher
 education. And let's try it. We've got to move this
 education system forward. And a lot of our plan can be done,
 incidentally, without going through Congress.
    And this whole new American schools concept is great.
 There's 1700 communities that have just taken the ball and
 are running with it, and saying let us do the innovation.
 Let's get around all the layers of bureaucracy and the
 teachers union and give the power to the teachers
 themselves.
    But it worked before, let's try it here. So we've got
 a program called GI bill for kids and let's see. There's
 $500 million set aside to do it, let's see if it works.
 I think it will.
    QUESTION: Mr. President, doesn't that theoretically really
 introduce market forces into an educational system 
 where you really don't have a free market, because public
 schools can't be allowed to fail.
    BUSH: I would urge you to take a look at
 Milwaukee where a black mother has taken the lead in
 fighting for choice and the Democratic mayor of Milwaukee is
 one of the strongest proponents of the concept of choice.
    So we've got to think anew.
    You're asking questions that reflect--and understand it--
 reflect the old thinking, that you can't change the way we
 do business. We've got new thinking--and says it is not good 
 enough--our education isn't good enough.
    We're spending more on education per capita than all the
 countries except Switzerland, I believe. Maybe there's one
 or 2 smaller countries in there.
    And it's not a question of money. It's a question of
 being willing to think again.
    And that's why our whole program of america 2000 in
 setting 6 major educational goals to be achieved makes a
 good deal of sense.
    The unions don't like it, the NEA, the teachers union. 
 But the teachers like it, and the local school people like
 it, and the governors like it. And I think it's good. And I
 believe it has support from Governor Clinton. We'll have to
 ask him.
    QUESTION: Mr. President, appreciate your being with us. We
 have asked him in the past, and he said he favors choice
 among public schools, but obviously--
    BUSH: That's the choice question. But on the
 whole program I think that they've taken a pretty good
 position on it. 
    QUESTION: On the 2000, yes. Thanks very much. Appreciate
 you being here. Good to have you with us again.


------------------OS/2 v2.0 -- Why settle for anything less?--------------------
James C. Barrett (barrett@cc.gatech.edu)|"If your so damned smart, why are
Georgia Tech College of Computing       |  you doing what you're doing, and I'm
                                        |  president of the U.S.?" - G.Bush
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