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WASHINGTON, Aug 6: US President George W. Bush on Friday defended his administration against charges that it had issued a terror alert in New York and Washington for political purposes , and said the government had an obligation to inform the public about 'genuine threats'.
Mr Bush, accused by Democrats of using last Sunday's warning of potential threats to financial institutions to take political momentum away from White House rival John Kerry, said it was important to share 'real' intelligence.
"When we find out intelligence that is real, that threatens people, I believe we have an obligation as government to share that with people," Mr Bush told a skeptical audience at a conference of minority journalists.
"And imagine what happens if we didn't share that information with the people in those buildings and something were to happen?" He added: "This is a dangerous time. I wish it wasn't this way. Now, I wish I wasn't the war president. Who in the heck wants to be a war president?"
Journalists attending the Unity conference had given Mr Kerry, the Democratic nominee in November's presidential election, loud applause when he appeared before them on Thursday, so Mr Bush had little doubt about the group's political leanings when he agreed to talk to them.
Still, the openly skeptical laughter that greeted some of his answers to their questions was a stark contrast to the fawning crowds Mr Bush usually faces on the campaign trail.
A lone heckler was escorted out of the hall by security after interrupting the president's opening speech with shouts of "Shame on you, Mr Bush!" and calling him a liar.
Many in the crowd laughed when Mr Bush struggled to answer a question about what tribal sovereignty meant for Native American tribes in the 21st century. "Tribal sovereignty means that; it's sovereign.
I mean, you're a - you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And therefore the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities," Mr Bush replied.
IMMIGRATION REFORM: The crowd applauded a questioner for asking the US president about his views on whether race and ethnic background should be used in college admissions and hiring. Mr Bush has already stated his opposition to racial quotas in schools and hiring.
He said he opposed the admission policies of some universities that allow relatively easy entry for children or grandchildren of those who attended the same school - so-called 'legacies.'
"I think colleges ought to use merit in order for people to get in," he said when pressed by one questioner. Mr Bush said he doubted his immigration reform proposal would pass this year because it is an election year. He had proposed allowing millions of foreigners to work legally in the United States, but the idea has received a cool reception from Congress.
Mr Bush got in hot waters last month by refusing to address the annual conference of the National Association of Coloured People. He tried to make it up by later speaking to the more moderate Urban League, and Friday's appearance reflected a White House attempt to reach out to minorities, who voted against him in significant numbers in the 2000 election.
Mr Bush said he would consider a constitutional amendment to guarantee every American the right to vote - after some votes were rejected in the disputed 2000 election in Florida. He dodged a question on whether he would send federal election monitors to Florida and other southern states this year. "Obviously everybody ought to have a vote," he said.
FALLING EMPLOYMENT: Mr Bush, facing a tough re-election battle, shrugged off official figures showing stunningly anaemic job creation in July and insisted the US economy was 'strong and it's getting stronger.'
Government figures showed US employers hired a meagre 32,000 extra workers in July, shocking analysts who had generally predicted a gain of 243,000 and shattering expectations of a rebound from sluggish job growth in June.
The president made no reference to the news and said instead that he had been right to push trillion-dollar tax cuts through the US Congress. "It was to stimulate the economy. It was to help people have more money in their pocket, so they would demand additional goods or services," he told the conference.
"And the economic growth is strong, and it's getting stronger. And that's good for everybody in America," he said. "When I came into office, we had a problem with our economy; it was in a recession. In order to make sure this country is hopeful and people have a better chance to realize their dreams, we need economic growth," he said. -Reuters/AFP
