The Political Conundrum!

MS. PERINO: Good morning. A couple of announcements for you. This morning the President and Mrs. Bush celebrated the reopening of the National American History Museum and viewed a naturalization ceremony as part of the occasion. I know I'm glad that it's back in business because I have a lot of out of town guests that love to see it and I'm sure you do, too.

MS. PERINO: Hello, everybody. A couple of announcements for you. As you just saw, the President spoke today about efforts to improve travel for all Americans during this busy holiday season. He announced an expansion of the Thanksgiving Express Lanes, which were utilized on the East Coast during last year's Thanksgiving season.

MS. PERINO: A few announcements for you, if you can bear with me on this Monday morning. The President will be home soon, and so I'm sure you'll all go out to welcome him back. This afternoon in the East Room, the President and Mrs. Bush will present the 2008 National Medals of Arts and National Humanities Awards. And we'll get a list of names for you later on that.

MS. PERINO: Hello, everybody; good morning, Helen.

MS. PERINO: Okay, hello. Before I begin, I would like to welcome two people to the briefing room. One, we're happy to welcome back Helen Thomas. We're glad to have you here. We missed you a great deal, and we'll let the sparring begin here in just an instant. (Laughter.)

MS. PERINO: Welcome. Okay, I have a couple of things for you and then I will go to questions.

MR. FRATTO: Good morning, everyone. You should have -- we just released a statement by the President on the economy, and it just should be hitting your boxes right now. And just to summarize what the President says: He notes that we are, of course, in the midst of a global financial crisis and tight credit markets, and this is having an impact on our economy and the global economy, and obviously on job creation. And what we're focused on here are the aggressive actions that we're taking to deal with the problems in the economy. He notes that in the weeks ahead we'll continue to implement the programs we have and work to return our economy to growth and job creation.

MS. PERINO: Hi, everyone. I've got a couple of announcements for you. Just a reminder, in case you hadn't seen it, on September 9th, the President announced that as a result of security gains in Iraq, that he would continue the policy of "return on success," reducing American combat forces in Iraq as conditions on the ground continue to improve. Because of those continued improvements that have been proceeding at a very steady pace, violence is way down. And because the Iraqi security forces are growing in strength and numbers and competence and confidence every day, one of the brigades the President talked about on September 9th will be able to come home several weeks earlier than planned. U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, the 101st Airborne Division, currently serving in Baghdad, will redeploy to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in November. So they'll be home before the holidays. They were originally on a 15-month tour. That has been reduced to 13 months, and I'm sure those soldiers and families are excited.

MS. PERINO: Hi, everybody. I do not have anything to start with today, so I'll take your questions.

MR. FRATTO: Good morning, everyone. First, a couple of announcements. On the Pakistan earthquake, the United States expresses its deep sympathies and condolences to the victims of the October 29th earthquake in Pakistan, and to their families. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United States will provide an initial $1 million in assistance, and stands ready to provide further assistance as may be necessary. We'll continue to work with the government and people of Pakistan to help those affected by the earthquake cope with this tragic event.