Text:
Bush Continues Transition Planning
Tuesday, December 5,
2000
Following
is the transcript of Texas Gov. George W. Bush's remarks to the press Tuesday
morning.
TEXAS GOV. GEORGE
W. BUSH: Good morning. Had a good briefing this morning.
I appreciate the administration's willingness to send a member of the intelligence
community over to give me a security briefing.
Today, as you know, Secretary
Cheney is at Capitol Hill, gathering information about our transition, and I
appreciate the cooperative spirit from the leaders in Washington. Obviously,
we've got a lot of work to do, and the secretary is doing a very able job of
leading my transition.
QUESTION: Any announcement
today?
BUSH: Pardon me?
QUESTION: Any announcement
today?
BUSH: No. Today
is going to be a busy day here. I've got some state work to do. Condi Rice will
be coming into town. I'll be meeting with her this afternoon. But no announcements
today.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
BUSH: You know,
I don't know. I thought the judge gave a very thorough opinion yesterday. It
was a definitive opinion. And we'll just have to see how quickly the relevant
courts act in the state of Florida.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
BUSH: Well, that's
a decision the vice president has to make. It's a difficult decision, of course.
And I can understand what he may be going through. It's been a very interesting
period of time for both of us.
It's been one month from
today that the people actually showed up and started to vote, and here we stand--and
here I stand, still, you know, without a clear verdict. Although, I must say
that I am very encouraged by what's been taking place. Hopefully, the issue
will be resolved quickly, so that we can start...
QUESTION: Are you
ready to make an announcement, once these legal issues are cleared up?
BUSH: I think we'll
be ready to make some announcements, I do.
And, as I say, I've been
taking the transition very seriously. I've been in constant contact with people
on my team, who are in Washington, D.C. I think it's going to be important to
show some, once the election is over, to show the American people that this
administration will be ready to seize the moment.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
BUSH: Haven't talked
to him yet. I'm going to call him, here, in a minute. Thanks for asking. My
dad underwent surgery today in Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. And I said a little
prayer for him this morning, but I am confident that the surgery will go well.
My mother told me last
night that he played in a tennis tournament with Chris Evert, I think it was
over the weekend, and played quite well. And I can imagine what it's going to
be like when he gets a new hip.
Thank you all.