Bush: clear about being vague since 2000 (or maybe 1999)

Elizabeth Vargas had a good long chat with President Bush before he took off for India, er, Afghanistan. Here, from the end of the interview, is yet another example of what a hands on, informed, decisive, and forthright guy Bush is:

VARGAS: Finally, Mr. President, one last question. Just a few days ago, the legislature in South Dakota passed the most restrictive abortion law in this country with the intention, they say, of getting that all the way to the Supreme Court. They would like the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Will your administration file a friend of the court brief on that?

BUSH: I haven't paid attention to that, to this particular issue you're talking about. I can tell you I will put people on the Court without a litmus test. In other words, I haven't said to these judges, you know, "Give me your opinion on this case if it would be coming your way." And, you know, their job is to strictly interpret the Constitution.

So I am not going to prejudge how the Supreme Court is going to judge a particular issue.

VARGAS: This law would outlaw abortion except when a mother's life was at stake. The life was at stake, not health. Would you support that kind of law being the law of the land?

BUSH: Well, that, of course, is a state law, but my position has always been three exceptions: rape, incest and the life of the mother.

VARGAS: Rape and incest you would include?

BUSH: Yeah.

VARGAS: What about health?

BUSH: Well, health is, you know, the life of the mother is how I view health.

VARGAS: So you would lump that together. It doesn't have to be she's going to die if she doesn't get this abortion.

BUSH: No. I said life of the mother, and health is a very vague term, but my position has been clear on that ever since I started running for office.