Dana Peroxide handled thegaggle today aboard Air Force One en route to Florida. She provided a little preview to Chimpy’s speech there.
So one of the things he’ll say in his speech is that the Democrat’s agenda — excuse me, the Democrat’s tax agenda comes down to this: If you bring home a paycheck, are married, have a child, or own a family farm or small business, the Democrats consistently vote to raise your taxes. He will talk about the consequences for ordinary Americans and small businesses if the Democrats get into the majority and let the tax relief expire.
Poor Dana, she wasn’t expecting a follow-up.
Q Can I ask one more question about taxes? The President has said, or his advisors have said that Social Security remains something he wants to deal with. When he talks about taxes today, does he believe that Social Security can be put on a sustainable path without raising taxes?
MS. PERINO: In the remarks that I saw, I didn’t see Social Security mentioned as a part of that. That doesn’t mean that the President doesn’t think that Social Security isn’t already having a massive impact on America’s fiscal health, and especially looking into the future, as we try to figure out how to sustain the program.
Q But if he’s saying, Republicans are not going to raise your taxes, is he saying, any fix that I propose for Social Security will contain no tax increases?
MS. PERINO: Again, I don’t believe that these remarks talk at all about the Social Security matter, and I think that the President has said that after the election he’s going to work with Congress to make sure that we try to solve this problem. I don’t have anything more for you on that. I mean, there’s not a new proposal on the table.
Obsession continues…
Chimpy hopes to get a law passed absolving him of all of his war crimes guilt before the mid-terms.
Q What is the current status of negotiations with the Hill on the terrorism legislation? And do you really believe that this can — this compromise can be worked out before they leave session?
MS. PERINO: Negotiations and discussions are ongoing. We are talking in good faith with the people up on the Hill, both staff and members.
[snip]
As to the timing as to whether or not we can get it done before the election, we certainly hope so. So we will continue to work very hard on that. I know that they were in discussions over the past several days, into the evening hours, and up early in the morning. So people are working very hard.
Shorter Dana: Yes.
Q Would the President find it necessary to seek General Musharraf’s permission to launch military action against Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan?
MS. PERINO: Let me tell you what I’ll say on that. You know that President Musharraf is going to be at the White House tomorrow, and there will be an availability in the late morning hours. As we’ve said before, Pakistan is an important partner in the war on terror and a friend to the United States. We’ve had excellent cooperation in many areas, including counterterrorism. And the President has repeatedly said how much he appreciates Musharraf’s commitment to pursuing al Qaeda and continuing to work with us in cooperation in the search for Osama bin Laden. Pakistan and the United States remain close allies, working not only on the war on terror together, but on many other areas.
What I can tell you is that — without getting into any operational details — that when there is actionable information, that Osama bin Laden will be brought to justice.
Poor Juggernaut. Used and discarded like a make-up laden Kleenex™.
Q Katherine Harris says that she’s going to be at the GOP’s meeting at 4 p.m., at the Ritz Carlton. Does the President plan to meet with her as the Republican nominee for the Senate race?
MS. PERINO: I don’t know if there is any specific separate meeting, but I believe she is going to be there as part of the event.
Q Does he have any plans to raise money for her?
MS. PERINO: I don’t know of anything that’s scheduled.