snippet from transcript...
http://www.standardnewswire.com/news/62423377.htmlQ Mr. President, you have said that you have the Baker-Hamilton report, you also have the -- you're waiting to hear from the Pentagon, you're waiting to hear from the State Department. This report was prepared by a bipartisan group, the only one you'll get. Secretary Baker has a special relationship with the family. Should this report not get extra consideration? Does it not carry more weight than any of the others?
PRESIDENT BUSH: That's an interesting question. It's certainly an
important part of our deliberations, and it was certainly an
important part of our discussions this morning. Some reports are issued and just gather dust. And truth of the matter is, a lot of reports in Washington are never read by anybody.
To show you how important this one is, I read it, and our guest read it. The Prime Minister read -- read a report prepared by a commission. And this is
important. And there are some -- I don't think Jim Baker and Lee Hamilton expect us to accept every recommendation. I expect them -- I think -- I know they expect us to consider every recommendation, Jim. We ought to pay
close attention to what they advise. And I told them yesterday at our meeting that we would pay
close attention, and would seriously consider every recommendation. We've discussed some of their recommendations here at this press conference. And we are -- we will spend a lot of time on it.
And I -- and so you ask its relative
importance. I'd call it a very
important report, and a very
important part of our working to a new approach, a new way forward in Iraq.
And I can't -- I really do thank those citizens for taking time out of busy lives to spend time helping us look at different options. These are distinguished souls; they got plenty to do. They're busy people, and yet they took nine months out and they talked to a lot of people. They went to Iraq, they thought about it a lot, and it was a very considerate,
important report. And I will take the recommendations very seriously.
-- George W. Bush, White House Press Conference regarding Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group report, December 7, 2006
Bush read the report because it's important.