Pool report 1

POOL REPORT ONE

OVAL OFFICE

PRESIDENT OBAMA AND KING ABDULLAH

4/21/09

Headline:

The president left the door open to both prosecution of lawyers who generated the interrogation memos and also a truth commission. During questions he said he did not favor a truth commission but then set his parameters for such a commission -- that it be bipartisan and independent and forward-looking.  There was also a response to Ahmadinejad, whose rhetoric the president termed "appalling"

Here are some quotes:

generally we should be "lookin gforward and not back"

"I do worry that this gets so politicized that it hampers our ability to function effectively,'' he said asked if he favored a commission. But he went on, "If and when there needs to be a further accounting of a ttook place during this period i think for congress to examine ways tha tit could be don ein a bipartisan fashion outside of hte typical" process that would break down along party lines,'' he would hope that congress would "examine ways that it can be done in a bipartisan fashion'' with members who are independent and therefore "have credibility.''

he said "im not suggesting that it should be done" but hatHe said it would be "very important for hte american people to feel" that it is being done "in order to learn some insight" to move forward, as opposed to being for political advantage.

On hte issue of prosecution, he reiterated that he does not beleive there should be prosecution of those individuals who carried out their tasks within the "the four corners" of hte guidelines  down for them. But "with respect to shoe who formulated'' the policies, "that is going to be more of a decision for  hte attorney general within the parameters of vairous laws,'' and he said "I dont't want to prejudge that.''

On the Middle East, I did not see any real news. You will get a transcript. The president reiterated his support for the two-state solution and said he hoped that the two sides could "move the process forward with some sense of urgency" . He said he expected to meet Netanyahu soon and that the two sides need to "step back from the abyss.''

 The King said he and Mr. Obama had a "meeting of hte minds"  and that they needed to keep their "eyes on the prize and the prize is peace and stability". He also thanked the president for his outreach tothe Muslim world, which he said had been very well received.

On Iran, he said the president engaged in "the kind of rhetoric we have come to expect from President Ahmadinejad.'' he called Ahmadinejad's language "appalling"

Sheryl Stolberg

New York Times