From his news conference, twenty-nine years ago today.
| Q. Mr. President, how do you reconcile your decision to go ahead with the neutron bomb with your inaugural pledge to eliminate all nuclear weapons?
A. In the first place, I did not know what was in the bill. |
Could President Bush skate with that kind of answer?
| Q. Mr. President, just today, I believe, you are reported on the brink of approving a compromise minimum wage proposal of $2.60 an hour. Now, if that’s true, did you raise your sights because of political factors, economic factors, or a combination?
A. Well, the fact of the matter is that the minimum wage proposals are being handled by the congressional committees–Congressman Dent, Congressman Perkins. We have no administration legislation to propose, and I do not intend to send the Congress any message on the minimum wage. I might say in advance that we have come to agree with the proposal that Congressman Perkins will propose, but it is not an administration bill. |
The President raised his sights to $2.60 an hour? Wow.
By the way, I graduated from high school in 1977. I remember working for less than that an hour in my first job. I was an assemblyman for the Little Harvey food dryer at Harvest Mills in Woodburn, Oregon. Wow II.
| Q. When you talk about the necessity for a Palestinian homeland, are you thinking of locating that homeland in territory that at one time was Palestine, or in your mind, could it be located anywhere?
The second part of .the question is: Do you still believe, as you said a few weeks ago, that Israel eventually must withdraw with only minor changes to the pre-1967 borders? A. I have not changed my opinion since the earlier statements that I made concerning the general outline of terms to be sought at a possible Geneva conference. We have never tried to define geographical boundaries for a so-called Palestinian entity. My own preference, which I have expressed since I’ve been President and also as a candidate. was that the Palestinian entity, whatever form it might take and whatever area it might occupy, should be tied in with Jordan and not be independent. |
I assume he still takes the same view regarding Israel’s boundaries. But why do I suspect his view has changed regarding Palestinian statehood?
| Q. Mr. President, how comfortable are you with the recent Supreme Court decision that says the Federal Government is not obligated to provide money for abortions for women who cannot afford to pay for them themselves?
A. I do not think that the Federal Government should finance abortions except when the woman’s life is threatened or when the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. I think it ought to be interpreted very strictly. In my opinion, the Federal Government being willing to finance abortions, as it has been in recent months, is an encouragement to abortion and its acceptance as a routine contraceptive means. And I think within that strict definition that I’ve given you, I would like to prevent the Federal Government financing abortions. […] I don’t believe that either States or the Federal Government should be required to finance abortions. |
I wonder where he stands on that issue today. (But I don’t wonder enough to do the research.)
| Q. Mr. President, how fair do you believe it is then, that women who can afford to get an abortion can go ahead and have one, and women who cannot afford to are precluded?
A. Well, as you know, there are many things in life that are not fair, that wealthy people can afford and poor people can’t. But I don’t believe that the Federal Government should take action to try to make these opportunities exactly equal, particularly when there is a moral factor involved. |
What kind of rhetoric and bashing would that answer get today if President Bush gave it?
And is Jimmy Carter today still supportive of that kind of answer to the poor — “Just lump it, pal”?
Ah, what does all this matter anyway?!
“By the way, I graduated from high school in 1977. I remember working for less than that an hour in my first job. I was an assemblyman for the Little Harvey food dryer at Harvest Mills in Woodburn, Oregon.”
Wow, what a small http://WWW... Oh, the memories I have of that big yellow building — of course, it seems small now compared to the shopping center and the old Kmart building; but to a 7-year-old, it was monstrous. Most of my time there was spent in the office, snitching candy out of my dad’s candy jar. 🙂