President Sits for 60th Birthday Interview with Larry King

President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush sat down with Larry King on the president's 60th birthday yesterday (July 6th) for an interview on King's CNN show, Larry King Live. Asked how he felt on this milestone birthday, Bush said, "I feel pretty young. I'm surprised I feel so good. I can remember when I was a kid looking at people 60. I said, 'Man, there goes an ancient person.' But I feel great."

The interview covered a wide range of topics, including the ongoing war in Iraq. Bush insisted that it was the right decision to invade Iraq, and that he would do the same thing again, even knowing that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Why the hell is he denying that we found any WMDs? We found at least 500 see HERE. And when asked about the polls, which show the lowest approval numbers of his presidency as well as weak support for the war, Bush said they don't bother him. He explained:

["You cannot achieve big goals and accomplish hard things if you're worried about opinion polls. The president that chases the opinion poll is the president that will have failed policy, in my judgment. I like to tell people I would rather be -- when history looks back, I'd rather be judged as solving problems and being correct rather than being popular."]

Bush also spoke about the controversial revelations by the New York Times and other newspapers about secret programs being used to try to track down and stop terrorists. The Times especially has drawn sometimes vitriolic condemnation, while the paper has defended itself by saying the American people have a right to know what their government is doing, especially considering that there are questions as to the legality of those actions. Bush spoke about his concerns:

["I'm disturbed that people would feel comfortable enough going to newspapers with state secrets. It doesn't make any sense to me to give the enemy our game plan on how we're going to deal with them."]

King also asked Bush about the sudden death Wednesday of former Enron CEO Ken Lay, a friend and financial backer of the president's political campaigns who was convicted earlier this year of deceiving investors and employees about Enron's financial health before it went bankrupt. Bush said:

["My hope is that his heart was right with the Lord, and I feel really sorry for his wife."]

On some other issues:

*When asked about Osama bin Laden, Bush predicted we will ultimately get him, saying, "It's just a matter of persistence and patience." OK we've gone from "Wanted Dead or Alive" to "He's not important anymore" to "It's just a matter of persistence and patience." If we're still going after him why did we disband the special CIA task force assigned with getting him?

*Bush said we are better prepared to deal with another hurricane disaster like Katrina.

*The president wouldn't say if he'd support a possible independent Senate run by Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut if he loses the Democratic primary. Lieberman is facing a tough primary challenge over his support for Bush's Iraq policy. Referring to a kiss he gave Lieberman on the House floor after a State of the Union speech that the Connecticut Democrat's foes have used against him, Bush joked, "You're trying to get me to give him a political kiss, which may be his death."