Bush's Press Conference

The transcript of his first question. Slightly edited.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. President, April is turning into the deadliest month in Iraq since the fall of Baghdad, and some people are comparing Iraq to Vietnam and talking about a quagmire. Polls show that support for your policy is declining and that fewer than half Americans now support it.

What does that say to you? And how do you answer the Vietnam comparison?

BUSH: I think the analogy is false. I also happen to think that analogy sends the wrong message to our troops and sends the wrong message to the enemy. What are these messages? The message to our troops is that we don't support you. The message to the enemy is that we're going to firebomb your villages for the next five years. Okay, at this point, maybe that's the right message. But it's still the wrong message for the troops. Our troops aren't fighting in a rerun.

Look, this is hard work. It's hard to advance freedom in a country that has been strangled by tyranny. A country choked by repression. A country brutalized by a vicious madman, by a--to quote Gollum from The Lord of the Rings--muuurdererrrr. [Bush hisses for effect] [applause] And yet we must stay the course because the end result is in our nation's interest.
A secure and free Iraq is an historic opportunity to change the world and make America more secure. A free Iraq in the midst of the Middle East will have incredible change. It will be a beacon of hope for its neighbors and the region.

It's hard. Freedom is not easy to achieve. I mean we had a little trouble in our own country achieving freedom. Take The Patriot Act for instance--please! I'm all for fighting terrorists, but now you can't scratch your balls without John Ashcroft inserting a probe in your ass.

That's just an example. I do not actually scratch my balls. I'm the President. I have a stick.

We've been in Iraq for a year. I know that seems like a long time. It seems like a long time to the loved ones whose troops have been overseas. Especially with the time difference. But when you think about where the country has come from, it's a relatively short period of time.

And we're making progress. There's no question it's been a tough, tough series of weeks for the American people. It's been really tough for the families. Straight families. I understand that. It's been tough on this administration. But we're doing the right thing. And we're straight.

And as to whether or not I made decisions based upon polls, I don't. I just don't make decisions that way. If I did, I would have dropped my proposal to build a base on the moon. I just don't do that. I fully understand the consequences of what we're doing. We're changing the world, and the world will be better off and history will judge us favorably and we will repair our relations with the world and terrorists will cower and America will be more secure as a result of the actions we're taking.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. What's your best--

BUSH: Wait a minute. I have to answer another one?