UPDATE - 10:48 A.M.

The fire alarm actually made the transcript. Here's the relevant portion.

Q Back on oil. Have there been any follow-up discussions with the Saudis since the President's visit to the Middle East about opening up supplies more? As you know, OPEC is meeting next week.

MR. JOHNDROE: I would say we have pretty regular contact. I think that Secretary Bodman was out in the region right after President Bush was in the region. We have regular contact with all the -- with many of these countries. So we'll see. There certainly is a --

(Fire alarm goes off.)

Q What is that?

MR. JOHNDROE: I know, right. Well, I guess we're over. I guess we're done now.

Q Fire drill?

MR. JOHNDROE: Yes, right, exactly. There's a button up here on the new podium. See if one of these guys has something to say.

Q It's an easy way to get out of a briefing.

MR. JOHNDROE: Yes, right.

Q Week ahead? (Laughter.)

MR. JOHNDROE: Yes, no kidding. Do you want me to just release it?

Q Yes.

MR. JOHNDROE: All right, thank you all.

END

-----

White House deputy press secretary Gordon Johndroe this morning was halfway through the first press gaggle of his career when the fire alarm went off here in the Brady briefing room.

For the record, I've never heard a more piercing, painful fire alarm in my life.

It was a false alarm, and we waited outside for about five minutes until it was turned off. Then, two minutes later, it went off again for another five minutes.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Ralph Nader announced today that Matt Gonzalez, former president of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, will be his running mate for the 2008 presidential election.

"He has a steadfast commitment to the values and directions that have characterized my work," said Mr. Nader, who announced another independent presidential bid early this week. "He strongly understands that what we are trying to do is make this a better, stronger democracy."

Mr. Gonzalez listed election reform and poverty as key issues in their campaign, and said he holds Mr. Nader in “very high esteem.”

Mr. Nader used the announcement to establish his political platform, speaking against corporate involvement in government, closing the gap between the rich and the poor in America and challenging the entrenched two-party political system, which he called "political bigotry" and a "dictatorship."

The announcement was made at D.C.'s National Press Club to a couple of dozen reporters. Mr. Nader commended the media for its investigative work in corporate and government fraud, but said government had done nothing to clean it up.

Mr. Gonzalez is 1987 graduate of Columbia University and a 1990 graduate of Staford University. While in San Francisco, he fought to adjust San Francisco's minimum wage to account for inflation, ban chain stores and reform voting systems.

Since leaving public office he has been practicing law in San Francisco, emphasizing the defense of civil rights.

-- Michael Farr, intern, The Washington Times

Bob Geldof made pretty big news when we reported his comments in Rwanda last week during President Bush's trip.

Now, his column for Time magazine is up on the Web. It's a long one, clocking in at just under 3,000 words.

Here, Geldof tells of the president's response to a woman who was bitten by a snake — pretty funny, I think.

At a lunch for Peace Corps volunteers in Ghana, the President introduces the First Lady and Condi. Then he introduces me. It turns into a very funny Geldof roast. Finally, he says, "Anyway, he doesn't look it, but he's all right. And I'm not saying that to blow smoke up his rear just because he's doing some piece on me." Thanks for the compliment, Mr. President. He makes the volunteers relaxed and easy with him. They introduce themselves. One woman tells how six months previously, she was bitten by a cobra and rushed to hospital. As she was passing out, she tells the President, "that little voice whispered to me, 'You'll be all right,' and I was." She pauses, and says meaningfully to him: "You know that little voice, I think?" "Not really," Bush says drily. "I've never been bitten by a cobra." As they tell their stories he refers to them as being among the best of America. "I like courage and compassion. We are a courageous and compassionate people." A middle-aged couple say they gave up their careers and home to come to Africa. "It's important to take risks for the things you believe in," says Bush. Then disarmingly, he says to the man, who lives in a village, "What's social life like here?" "What's social life anywhere at 59?" the man asks his President, who is 61. "Tell me about it," says Bush. "Bed at 6:30!"

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Ralph Nader, at the National Press Club in Washington, has just announced his running mate: Matthew Gonzalez, former president of board of supervisors in San Francisco.

-- Micheal Farr, intern, The Washington Times

I was a little surprised to get the e-mail this morning that President Bush would be holding a press conference at 10 a.m. He hasn't held a presser this year, I believe, and while he usually does one about every month, he hasn't been hiding from the press lately.

He did a few joint press conferences with leaders in Africa last week, he took questions yesterday in both Oval Office appearances, which is unusual, and he's got a joint presser with the Danish prime minister at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, on Saturday.

But it's obvious that the White House wants to take full advantage of the president's bully pulpit, or what's left of it. They put out a press release this morning previewing Mr. Bush's opening statement. He'll call on Congress to reauthorize AIDS funding for Africa, authorize a permanent update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, fund U.S. troops in Iraq, and " quickly pass legislation to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, not bailouts for lenders and speculators."

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

UPDATE #2 - 7 p.m. - One correction. Col. David Lamm, former chief of staff to Lt. General David Barno (Ret.), former Commander of combined forces in Afghanistan, filled in for his old boss tonight. So every time Col. Lamm talked I thought it was Lt. Col. Barno. So I've gone back and corrected the references to Lt. Col. Barno to reflect that it was Col. Lamm who was actually speaking.

-----

UPDATE - 6:30 p.m.

A few more highlights.

Col. Lamm made a great point about the U.S. failure to catch Osama bin Laden so far. He pointed out that abortion clinic bomber Eric Rudolph eluded capture in the mountains of North Carolina for several years.

"And we were able to walk over that terrain, and walk dogs over that terrain, and couldn't find him," Col. Lamm said.

Mr. Coll said that bin Laden has acquired some sort of "spiritual status" among some Afghanis, and that the terrain and geography also make it an extremely difficult task to track him down.

Mr. Burns criticized the NATO partners again about their unwillingness to lead provincial reconstruction teams. "We need to see more buy in from some of our allies," he said.

Mr. Burns really bashed NATO a lot. For someone that former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said was part of the internationally-minded group think at State, Mr. Burns certainly laid the wood to the international community a lot.

Mr. Schieffer then asked a final question about the future in Afghanistan.

Mr. Coll said that a major thing to watch is whether or not the Taliban can delay the elections in Afghanistan that are set for the fall of 2009. If they can, it would be "demoralizing," he said. The other panelists seemed to agree.

Mr. Burns said that a big task is to "convince Congress and our allies that this is a long term effort" and to put a stop to the production of poppies in Afghanistan, which produce heroin.

Poppies, Mr. Burns said, are "poisoning their society ... It's going to cripple that society if they don't get their arms around it."

Mr. Schieffer pointed out that the Taliban had stopped production of poppies when they were in power before the U.S-led coalition drove them out in late 2001 and early 2002.

Mr. Burns responded: "Here's the hypocrisy of the Taliban. Sure they were tough on it when they were in power but now they're living off it."

"But is there anything we can learn from them?" Mr. Schieffer asked.

"We actually can't use those types of methods," Col. Lamm said, drawing laughter from the crowd of about 250 or 300.

Col. Lamm also said that the fight in Afghanistan is "a 20-25 year, a generational effort, and it has to be an international effort."

_____

Bob Schieffer, CBS News' chief Washington correspondent, is hosting a panel on Afghanistan this evening at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The panel: Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns, Steve Coll of The New Yorker, Lt. General David Barno (Ret.), fmr Commander, Combined Forces in Afghanistan, and Rick Barton, CSIS Senior Adviser.

The panelists spoke in the order I've listed them.

Mr. Burns listed the challenges in Afghanistan, and said what U.S. officials have been saying for a while now, that NATO is failing to step up and place international troops in the south and east, where the real fighting against al Qaeda and the Taliban is being done primarily by U.S. Marines.

Mr. Burns said NATO's long term viability is at stake: "If NATO cannot succeed in Afghanistan, it may have a very negative impact on its ability to move forward."

Mr. Burns also said that the large amount of economic aid flowing in to the country is not being efficiently organized, and that the United Nations should appoint a "high-powered" individual to organize the aid flows.

Mr. Coll's opening was a bit less cohesive. He hit a few different points.

Things there he said, are "going the wrong direction, but not so precipitously" that they can't be reversed.

He also said that IED attacks are appearing in Afghanistan, and it appears they are being imported from Iraq.

Col. Lamm said that the U.S.-NATO coalition is indeed chaotic.

"If the Taliban could have drawn up the organizational diagram that would inhibit the allies, they would have arrived at this conclusion," he said.

Mr. Barton said that the Afghani people's two biggest concerns haven't been addressed: personal safety and investment outside the capital of Kabul.

Mr. Barton also raised an issue that provoked some interesting discussion: helicopters. One year ago, he said, he was told that the coalition needed 70 to 100 helicopters in Afghanistan but had only 35, and that NATO has 4,000 in Europe but only 11 in Afghanistan.

"There is obviously a capacity opportunity," Mr. Barton said.

Mr. Burns said he didn't know if the 4,000 number was accurate but that "there are certainly thousands of helicopters available."

But "very few have made their way" into Afghanistan, Mr. Burns said, calling that "a major failing" of NATO's.

Mr. Coll once took the conversation in a slightly different direction when he said that he was "not convinced that the United States has the capacity to succeed in Iraq as the current policy foresees, and succeed in Afghanistan as the current policy foresees."

"This current policy will not prove sustainable," he said.

Then Col. Lamm, somewhat surprisingly, said he agreed with Mr. Coll. He pointed out that nearly 50 percent of the German electorate want out of Afghanistan altogether, and 80 percent wants nothing to do with south Afghanistan.

Col. Lamm also dismissed the helicopter debate.

"That's probably not the way to go about your strategy, flying over your problems ... we did that in Vietnam," he said.

He said that getting mixed diplomatic and military teams, or provincial reconstruction teams, out "interfacing with people every day" is what "secures the center of gravity [which is] the Afghani people."

More to come if they say more of interest.

In bad taste? You decide.

This is President Bush speaking to the Boston Red Sox at the White House this afternoon.

"I love the fact that you've got some of the game's biggest stars. I mean, 'Big Papi,' the guy lights up the screen. He brings a great personality — (applause). I'm sorry his running mate, Manny Ramirez, isn't here. I guess his grandmother died again. (Laughter.) Just kidding. (Laughter.) Tell Manny I didn't mean it."

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

UPDATE - 2:45 P.M. - Mr. Bush, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on an unrelated matter, said he had called Mr. Buckley's son, Christopher, this afternoon to express his condolences.

Mr. Buckley, the president said, "influenced a lot of people, including me."

"He was a great author, a great wit and a leader," Mr. Bush said.

The president said he could "remember those debates they had on TV, and he was so articulate and he captured the imagination of a lot of folks because ... he had a great way of defining the issues."

"It was erudite and yet a lot of folks from different walks of life could understand it. And he's a big figure in our history, and he'll be missed," Mr. Bush said.

Here is a clip of Mr. Buckley debating Noam Chomsky in 1969 (HT: Stacey McCain).

_____

President Bush issued this statement around 1:30 p.m. today.

"America has lost one of its finest writers and thinkers. Bill Buckley was one of the great founders of the modern conservative movement. He brought conservative thought into the political mainstream, and helped lay the intellectual foundation for America's victory in the Cold War and for the conservative movement that continues to this day.

"He will be remembered for his principled thought and beautiful writing — as well as his personal warmth, wit, and generous spirit. His legacy lives on in the ideas he championed and in the magazine he founded — National Review.

"Laura and I send our prayers to Chris Buckley, the Buckley family, and all who loved this good man."

White House press secretary Dana Perino said Mr. Buckley was "a longtime friend of the Bush family" and that she informed the president of Mr. Buckley's death at 11:45 a.m. in the Oval Office.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

UPDATE #3 - 2:55 p.m. - President Bush met with newly named Islamic envoy Sada Cumber this afternoon in the Oval Office.

"The core of his mission is to explain to the Islamic world that America ... is a friend of freedom, is a friend of peace, that we value religion," Mr. Bush said.

Mr. Bush called the envoy post "an important job."

"There's a lot of misperceptions about America, and Sada is going to be a part of our effort to explain the truth," the president said. "And when people hear the truth about America, when they know that we're a land full of compassionate people and that we value other people's opinions, that they'll slowly but surely begin to better appreciate."

______

UPDATE #2 - 11:54 A.M. - The White House tells me that the envoy position will not require Senate confirmation.

______

UPDATE - White House press secretary Dana Perino announced this morning that Texas entrepreneur Sada Cumber will be the U.S. Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

"It is an important organization, it has a constructive role to play in the world, and the president is signalling our desire to have a greater dialogue with the organization as well as Muslims around the world," Mrs. Perino said.

Mr. Cumber is currently founder of Texas Global, a consulting company.

Mrs. Perino was asked why it took eight months to name the envoy after the president announced his intent to do so last June.

"He wanted to find the right person and he found that in Sada Cumber," she said.

______

The White House announced today that President Bush will name a U.S. envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, after having first announced his intention to do in June.

An Oval Office meeting is scheduled for 2:10 p.m, the White House announced this morning.

When I last wrote about this, just before the president's trip through the Middle East in January, the White House said it wasn't ready to name anyone to the position. One analyst speculated that they might have been scared off of the idea by the prospect of a Senate nomination fight that would open them up to criticism of their Middle East policy, namely the Iraq war.

It will be interesting to see if the post will have ambassadorial rank, which would require Senate confirmation. It it does, perhaps the White House is more confident in their ability to parry attacks from Democrats, given the increasing consensus that Iraq is more stable and that the surge has been a success.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Sen. Joe Biden, speaking on Capitol Hill today with Sen. John Kerry on their recent trip to Afghanistan, was critical of the current administration.

Biden said the Bush administration is creating more problems than it is solving with its approach to the heroin trade in Afghanistan.

"The money available on the ground to provide an alternative crop does not even appear in Afghanistan until five months after the growing season begins," he said.

Senators Joe Biden (D-Del.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) hold a press conference to discuss their recent trip to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and India in the Senate Radio and TV Gallery of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, February 26, 2008. (Michael Connor/The Washington Times)

He pointed to drug lords who paid regional farmers before the crop goes out instead of afterward. He said that the United States doesn't provide financial support for farmers until June.

"We need additional troops but they are not available," he said.

Sen. Biden said that Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, needed to exercise the role of president, not that of a dictator or prime minister.

The senators' advice, he said, was to "focus on the future ... You've got a shot to get this done."

Kerry echoed Biden, saying that the clock is ticking on the ability of the U.S. Senate to get things done. He said there is a chance for early solution if agreements are formed by late May or early June.

He ended by commenting that Senators Obama and Clinton, in their race for the White House, understood their position. He said that they intend to "restore America's leverage and credibility."

-- Harrison Keely, intern, The Washington Times

Sen. Kerry, speaking on Capitol Hill this afternoon on his recently completed trip to Afghanistan, said the government there had to make better use of tools and aid provided by the United States.

"This is the front line challenge," he said, pointing out that neither side was meeting the task.

He gave an illustration of a town where people were connected where they hadn't been before because of a bridge that was built to cross a river.

Kerry also said the Taliban provides cash to farmers plant poppies for heroin, and United States needs a better policy to combat the drug trade.

"Not one drug kingpin has been arrested," he said. "Not one."

-- Harrison Keely, intern, The Washington Times

Sen. Biden said economic aid for Pakistan and Afghanistan currently sits at $500 million a year. He said that that figure needs to be tripled, providing for schools, roads and hospitals, among other things. He said that there was a correlation between development and control.

Sen. Biden said the United States walked away once before in Afghanistan and that it cannot walk away again.

"Regardless of where we went ... there was still a high tolerance for our presence," he said. He said that there was a number of nations involved in those countries but that there was no coordinator who could bring all of the elements together.

"If they expect us to foot the bill we have to pick [a coordinator]," he said.

-- Harrison Keely, intern, The Washington Times

Sen. Kerry, reflecting this afternoon on Capitol Hill on the recent Pakistan elections, where he served as an observer, said American troops have an enormous amount of work to do.

He stressed that top al Qaeda leadership is planning more attacks on America, saying that it is a question of when, not if.

Photo: Michael Connor/The Washington Times

-- Harrison Keely, intern, The Washington Times

More from Senators Kerry and Biden, back from Pakistan, Afghanistan and India:

Kerry said the security threats in Pakistan and Afghanistan are pressing.

"This is, as it always has been, the central front in the war in terror," he said, indicating the two countries. Kerry said that they had not been getting the resources they deserved.

He said the congressmen were impressed by the young military personnel they saw on their trip ad the implementation of American foreign policy going on, saying that the troops helped to provide a better quality of life.

"We clearly need more troops," he said, pointing to a lack of security. He also said that they needed a comprehensive strategy including retraining Afghan police, giving more resources for governance and placing one person in charge of a coordination effort.

He said that the Afghan people continue to welcome an American presence in their country.

"They are our most important allies," Kerry said. "We need to provide them with ... commitment."

-- Harrison Keely, intern, The Washington Times

Senators John Kerry and Joe Biden (Sen. Chuck Hagel's a no-show), meeting with reporters in the Capitol this afternoon to talk about their recently concluded trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, said the war in Iraq is hurting efforts elsewhere.

"Afghanistan is the forgotten war. Pakistan is the neglected frontier," Sen. Biden said.
He said that Afghanistan's fate is tied to Pakistan's future and that extremists flow between the two countries on what has become a "superhighway."

Biden called for an end to the war in Iraq, saying that the United States has spent in Pakistan in six years what it has spent in three weeks of military operations in Iraq.

"There will need to be a rational transition to parliamentary power," he said, emphasizing that the party should not focus on the grudges of the past. He said that he believes the best way to secure support of the Pakistani and Afghan people is to pour economic assistance into the governments.

"Ours is a long-term relationship," he said.

-- Harrison Keely, intern, The Washington Times

Senators Joseph Biden Jr., John Kerry and Chuck Hagel are holding a press conference today at the U.S. Capitol to discuss their recent trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey and India.

During their travels the congressmen made an emergency helicopter landing in Afghanistan due to a snowstorm. They were unharmed.

The conference is set to begin at 12:30 and we'll have updates throughout.

-- Harrison Keely, intern, The Washington Times

President Bush was underwhelmed by the potential impact of the New York Philharmonic's concert in North Korea today, White House press secretary Dana Perino said this morning.

"The president thinks, at the end of the day, this is a concert," Mrs. Perino said. "It's not going to change the behavior of a regime that is not being as forthcoming as we need them to be about their proliferation activities."

Mrs. Perino was not aware that the concert, which was played a few hours ago in North Korea's capital city of Pyongyang, was broadcast on state-run TV.

"You can't help but think about all the people in North Korea that won't be able to hear this concert," she said.

When informed of the broadcast, Mrs. Perino said, "I've been busy!"

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Four Democratic congressional leaders this morning published an editorial in The Washington Post charging President Bush with using "scare tactics and political games" in the FISA debate.

"It is clear that [Mr. Bush] and his Republican allies, desperate to distract attention from the economy and other policy failures, are trying to use this issue to scare the American people into believing that congressional Democrats have left America vulnerable to terrorist attack," the lawmakers said in their op-ed.

"But if our nation were to suddenly become vulnerable, it would not be because we don't have sufficient domestic surveillance powers. It would be because the Bush administration has done too little to defeat al-Qaeda, which has reconstituted itself in Pakistan and gained strength throughout the world."

Just after 10 a.m. today, the White House put out a 1,072-word response from press secretary Dana Perino.

The Democrats, Mrs. Perino wrote, "claim that there is no cost to Congress' failure to pass long-term FISA modernization that will preserve the vital powers provided by the Protect America Act (PAA)."

"Notably, the most critical point of dispute in the debate — the need for retroactive liability protection for private partners alleged to have assisted the nation after September 11 — barely even registers in their op-ed," she said.

"That the failure to enact long-term FISA modernization legislation is costly and dangerous is beyond any serious dispute. The intelligence community lost intelligence information last week because of the uncertainty caused by Congress' failure to act. It is unlikely that this information can ever be recovered," Mrs. Perino said.

And this is a long graph, but it is interesting:

"The authors of the op-ed reject the judgment of the Intelligence Community and say that we can and should revert back to the old FISA process — a process that everyone agrees led to delays and at times the inability to collect certain intelligence — even from foreign targets on foreign soil. In other words, the authors would have us revert back to the very same conditions that created dangerous intelligence gaps in the past and that gave rise to the need for the PAA reforms in the first place. The PAA authorities — which are preserved and improved on in important ways in the bipartisan Senate bill — were designed to give the intelligence community the speed and agility needed for today’s threats. FISA requires the intelligence community to make a finding of probable cause, even if the target of surveillance is not in the United States. Probable cause, a standard for protecting the civil liberties of American citizens, was never intended to be expanded to protect the rights of foreign terrorists overseas. Showing probable cause often takes time, is sometimes impossible, and makes intelligence officers spend valuable time convincing lawyers that this standard is met, rather than doing their most important task — hunting down terrorists and other foreign threats."

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

MONROVIA, LIBERIA — We are jetting home in under an hour now, so I have only time to post here the pool reports I wrote today for the press corps. You'll notice at the bottom of the second report that I mention running through a window.

President Bush was at a lunch outside at the executive mansion, and I was sitting inside when a White House aide told me that there was a song being performed. I wanted to see it, but they told me it was already half over. So I started to trot out to see it when I ran into — and through — a large plate of glass. In my defense, I was told later that three other folks had run into this before me, but none of them had broken it.

Here are the pictures.

I was very fortunate not to be seriously hurt. I suffered only a few small cuts on my wrist and hands. Thanks to the White House doctors for their help.

I'm not the only journalist to run into a little trouble. Debbie Charles of Reuters broke her hand on this trip as well. You'll see some info below about her getting her cast signed by Mr. Bush and other leaders.

And here are the pool reports.

POOL REPORT #2

AF1 TO LIBERIA thru REMARKS

Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008

Motorcade rolled from the hotel in Accra at 7:20 a.m. and AF1 was wheels up at 7:48 a.m.

Dana came back to the cabin in flight and said that POTUS had been briefed on the missile shootdown. She also said POTUS might do an interview on the flight home depending on how he felt. She said he was "in a really good mood this morning."

Dana also said POTUS "feels really close" to Liberian President Sirleaf.

Dana gave us some info on the POTUS remarks, which will be old news by the time this pool report is filed: money for 1 million textbooks and desks and chairs, Liberian made, for 10,000 students. Dana said there was some debate over whether to say that the U.S. was providing a textbook for every child (students are about one third of the population of roughly three million) but they decided against it. Dana also said that the school year starts in the fall — that's important because the books and furniture will be delivered by then.

She also said that since 2003 the U.S. has spent $139 million to rebuild Liberia's armed forces, and $200 million for the UNAMIL peace-keeping force. The U.S. will in fiscal 2008 spend $13 million for malaria prevention and treatment, including 480,000 bednets.

Dana also talked about POTUS’s conversation with Musharraf, on AF1 on Tuesday en route to Accra from Rwanda. Dana said the "process is still under way" to determine the makeup of the new government in Pakistan, and that Sec. Rice is talking regularly to the U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson (check spelling). Said Musharraf has done all they asked him to, and "we're still awaiting the outcome of the discussions that the parties are having."

Should Musharraf stay as president? "That's up to the Pakistani people.” But U.S. has said that Musharraf is someone “who could help Pakistan continue on the way to democracy."

Said the U.S. has partnered with Musharraf and that "we hope that whatever the makeup is of the next government of Pakistan that they will continue that partnership."

AF1 landed at 9:17. POTUS shook hands with a few dignitaries, including the U.S. ambassador, and then we were off to the choppers, Army Chinooks, specifically CH-47s. The crewman in the back told us to strap in and hold on to the rigging because he was going to open the back of the chopper when we took off. And indeed he did, going and sitting on the ledge of the ramp for the first two or three minutes after we took off, and then getting up and closing it.

We took off at around 9:25 and flew over lots of jungle, and then after 7 or 8 minutes saw houses. We landed around 9:45 and POTUS landed five or six minutes later. He and FLOTUS got off in front of an honor guard and reviewing stand, but received a floral arrangement from a small girl and shook hands with President Sirleaf before going past the honor guard. As the girl handed the flowers to FLOTUS, POTUS smiled at Sirleaf, standing to his left, brought his right hand up and brought it down enthusiastically in Sirleaf's left hand, and said a few words to her.

The Liberian band to POTUS's right played "Hail to the Chief," and then they went past honor guard and to the reviewing stand. The band played the U.S. and Liberian national anthems, and then the two presidents’ walked on a red carpet past a formation of camo-clad Liberian soldiers.

The motorcade rolled at 10:10 and during the 10-minute ride there were thousands, maybe, probably even tens of thousands, along the side of the route. Many watched, some waved, some danced, many held small American flags, a few held large U.S. flags. A few groups of school children or high school students yelled and screamed. I also saw 3 or 4 Amish or Quaker folks. An embassy person said they were probably missionaries.

At 10:21 we unloaded into the heat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and after signing a guest book, POTUS came over with Sirleaf to the press. I didn't see the mayor present the key to Monrovia, but apparently that happened just before.

Sirleaf talked about how it was "a great honor" to have POTUS in Liberia, and said he and FLOTUS had received "a very warm welcome."

POTUS also remarked on the welcome from the Liberians. "I loved all the smiles and the enthusiasm along the route," he said. He told Sirleaf, "We want to help you recover from a terrible period" and said he wants Liberians to live "lives of hope and peace."

"And under your leadership that's exactly what’s happening," he said.

We held for a few minutes after that, and then went up six flights of stairs to wait outside the bilat room. Sirleaf's offices are in this building since July 2006 because there was an electrical fire back then, connected with her inauguration. I wasn't clear whether it was the day of or three months after during a celebration of independence. But either way, the fire wrecked the executive mansion and Sirleaf has not made rebuilding it a priority, according to an advance stafffer, because she wants money to go to the people. Obviously all this should be verified, but that's what we were told.

At 10:50 or so we went into the bilat for a brief grip and grin. We were heading out when POTUS asked Debbie Charles of Reuters, "How's the wrist?" He asked Debbie if she wanted Sirleaf to sign the cast and Debbie, very smartly, said yes. She walked over to Sirleaf, who was sitting to POTUS' left, and Sirleaf signed the wrapping, adding her name to POTUS and Ghanian president John Kufour's, who both signed yesterday. On the way out, POTUS said, "When you put it on eBay, I won't expect a commission," and smiled.

POOL REPORT #3

At 11:51 a.m. we pulled up at the executive mansion, an absolutely massive structure. By the way, I forgot to mention that there is a very noticeable U.N. presence on the streets, both soldiers and vehicles.

Around noon we came into a fairly large ballroom of sorts with a red carpet down the middle, and a row of chairs at the other end. About 50 to 75 people were seated on both sides, facing the carpet.

POTUS and Sirleaf came in through a red velvet curtain and were seated. The minister of protocol spoke, and then a traditional tribal chief, wearing a white silk gown and hat, came up with four or five others, mostly women.

The tribal leader, whose name is Chief Zanzan Karwor, chairman of the traditional council of chiefs, then spoke into a microphone for several minutes, gradually building himself into a fervor. During his remarks, which were in English as far as I could tell, I understood two phrases. I'm not sure POTUS understood much more.

Karwor said the word "free!" and people clapped. So I guess that's not even a phrase. And he also said "America and Liberia together" and people clapped. Bush smiled at one point because he knew we knew he didn't know what the guy was saying, and a guy in the balcony above us was blowing on a loud but kind of weak-sounding horn every time there was an applause line.

Then the minister of foreign affairs spoke and prayed, mentioning during the prayer that POTUS was receiving "Liberia's highest order of distinction." They then said the Lord's prayer.

The Liberian minister of protocol then stood and talked for several more minutes about POTUS, reciting his career going all the way back to, you guessed it, childhood, mentioning his interests in baseball, nature, and other things. He also said that POTUS has "played a pivotal role in bringing peace and stability to Liberia."

At this point I saw one audience member sleeping, and maybe another. The one that was definitely sleeping was woken by the horn blowing, and clapped twice very slowly after an applause line.

Sirleaf and another official then placed a green sash over POTUS's head, and then a large gold necklace with a medallion. FLOTUS also got a green sash, and Rice got a red sash with a blue stripe.

The Minister of Information, Lawrence Bropleh, who is also a minister, gave a closing prayer, praying to "the God of our weary years, the God of our silent tears," and giving thanks for POTUS' "transformative leadership."

POTUS, he said, "understands that Liberia has…risen from a valley of despair to a buoyancy of new hope."

At 12:38 we were out to the lawn out back, facing the sea. We walked by a group of dancers in body paint and tribal dress. POTUS was down the massive steps at 12:48 and it was a long walk to a head table for lunch under an awning, with most of the guests seated at tables under thatched roofs propped up on tree branches.

Sirleaf and POTUS gave toasts, you should have transcripts, and now we're holding.

In case transcript of toasts hasn't come yet, here's the highlights:

Sirleaf: "Join me in drinking lustily to…the great friendship that Liberia enjoys with our number one partner."

POTUS: "It is easy to destroy a country. It is hard to rebuild one."

And I just ran through a window.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

ACCRA, GHANA — I'll be in the press pool again today with President Bush, as he heads from Ghana to Liberia. So it will be difficult to put much up on the blog until I swap out of the pool, and even then I'll have only an hour or so to write my story before we board buses for a 10-hour flight home.

So since there'll be light posting today, you can check out a funny piece about a George Bush rock song in Liberia here.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

UPDATE - My story on President Bush's press conference here in Ghana is up and can be read here.

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ACCRA, Ghana — I was able to make a quick trip this morning to Makola Market in Accra, where President Bush is spending the day today.

This short video gives you a pretty good feel for the bustle and noise, and maybe the heat, of this west African nation's capital.

Two things stood out to me while we were out and about: the way that many people are able to balance huge loads of material on top of their heads, and the large number of young woman and girls sleeping in the oddest of places, but usually in the large buckets they use to carry things.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

President Bush toured the genocide memorial in Kigali, Rwanda today, which memorializes the million or so Rwandans slaughtered in about three months in 1994.

In the picture below, you can see a hole in the side of one skull, which is probably the work of a machete, and in another, you can see a long gash, which was definitely from a machete, the weapon of choice for those who carried out the killings.

By the way, many thanks to ABC's Ann Compton, who has been graciously lending me her camera when I need it since mine broke in Tanzania.

Here are some pictures of victims killed in the genocide, which hang in a room inside the memorial.

Here are Mr. and Mrs. Bush emerging from their 45-minute tour, conducted by the 31-year old museum director, Freddy Mutanguha, who lost his parents and three of his four sisters in the genocide.

And here, Mr. and Mrs. Bush greet Rwandans after laying a wreath outside the memorial. You can get some sense from the background of the hilly topography covered with shacks and small houses that dominates much of Kigali.

I traveled with President Bush today during his afternoon activities in Kigali, Rwanda.

You can read my news story about the president's day here.

I was part of the press pool (explanation here) after Mr. and Mrs. Bush visited the genocide memorial, and filed this report to the White House press corps.

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POOL REPORT #3

DEDICATION OF U.S. EMBASSY, VISIT TO LYCEE DE KIGALI SCHOOL, FLIGHT TO GHANA

2/19/08

A little bit of news on Pakistan, and a bunch of color.

Dana gaggled en route to Ghana. She said the White House views the election in Pakistan yesterday as legitimate and a positive step.

"We asked [Musharraf] to get them back on the road to democracy. It appears he has done that with these elections," Dana said. "They seem to have been largely fair and people were able to express themselves."

Cuba came up, but Dana said there was nothing new to add to POTUS' comments from the Rwanda presser. Africom also came up, and Dana said she had heard the criticism that Africom was an attempt to "militarize Africa."

"Surely that's not the case," she said, talking at some length about what the White House regards as AFRICOM's purpose. She also said the topic has come up in meetings so far but that the issue of AFRICOM's headquarters has not been discussed.

Dana also said that POTUS spent "about an hour with Sir Bob Geldof," who was a guest member of the pool at this afternoon's events and then interviewed POTUS on board AF1. He is apparently planning to write an article about PEPFAR and economic development for Time magazine and also for some European outlets including Liberacion.

And here's the play by play for the afternoon, following the press conference:

After finishing lunch with President Kagame and Mrs. Kagame, POTUS rolled in the motorcade from the presidential compound at 2:20 p.m. local, en route to the new U.S. embassy.

We arrived about five minutes later, and walked up a driveway inside the walled compound to the outdoor event site. About 250, maybe 300 folks were seated on a patio facing the fairly massive embassy, a tan and gray structure made out of what looked like marble.

POTUS walked in and sat down on the stage, with Condi seated on his right and Kagame on his left. Ambassador Arietti spoke first. He said the new embassy is "a physical monument" to the ties between the U.S. and Rwanda.

The ambassador said that there would be 50 U.S. staff and 190 Rwandan staff at the embassy. He also said that the Kigali City Council was close to renaming the traffic circle next to the embassy after "one of America's greatest citizens" -- Martin Luther King Jr.

Ambassador Arietti then introduced POTUS, who got a standing ovation from the crowd.

"I had a speech. I'm not going to give it," POTUS said closing up a black binder. He talked off the cuff for a few minutes.

He referenced his visit earlier to the genocide memorial. "It's hard to believe that a country could recover so quickly after such a horrible moment," he said (check transcript, which is coming, or maybe already came).

"We stand with you as you hope for a better future," POTUS said, drawing applause from the crowd.

POTUS also talked about Kagame. "I like dealing with strong leaders who care about the people."

And he also took another veiled shot at the U.N.: "When we are suffering we don't just sit around talking about it."

POTUS also joked that he thought the ambassador was going to announce the traffic circle was being named after Condi. "I was certain you were going to say Rice Blvd."

Kagame spoke after POTUS. He paid tribute to America as an inspiration for Rwanda, and said that the embassy was "evidence that we are building a new nation."

"We are proud of that," Kagame said.

POTUS appeared pretty jovial as they then moved to cut the ribbon. He laughed as Rice unveiled a plaque, and then took the huge scissors for the ribbon-cutting and held them up next to his head, as if he was going to give himself a hair cut. He cut the ribbon, and then a troupe of drummers and dancers started up. POTUS moved briskly in their direction, and appeared to be warming himself up for another Malaria Day-like performance, doing the little shoulder shimmy with his palms down that he made famous last year. But it was only a quick jig with the dancers, and then he took some pictures with them and moved to a rope line with the attendees.

POTUS took some time with the rope line. We were in the vans by 2:38 but didn’t roll until 2:58. Our van lost sight of the motorcade at times as we drove through the blockaded streets, but we eventually caught up, driving down into a valley past hillside shantytowns and then back up another hill. Again, as earlier in the day, there were lots of people on the side of the road -- perhaps not the tens of thousands mentioned in Tanzania, but certainly thousands all together. It did seem at times that the entire city had come out to see us.

We arrived at the Lycee de Kigali school at 3:08 or so. It's a school for about 1,500 middle school and high school students, situated on a verdant hillside. We held in a classroom for almost 30 minutes -- one of the wooden desks was engraved with these words: "Jesus Reigns."

During a bathroom break your pooler did see that Condi and Ambassador Arietti were seated in chairs in the hillside courtyard, in the center of the school complex, talking to several students seated on the grass.

Around 3:34 we came out into the courtyard, en masse, and waited for POTUS/FLOTUS to emerge from the classroom where they were meeting with students who had, according to the White House, gone through a seminar on communicating with their parents.

POTUS walked out after FLOTUS and was introduced to the 25 or so teens, who were part of the Anti-AIDS club. A couple of the kids had prepared things to tell POTUS. One girl named Sharon said that "at our age we believe that abstinence is the best thing to do until marriage," and said the club does dramas, concerts and plays to drive that message home.

POTUS asked if they tested for HIV at the school, and was told they do. A boy said it is tough because you are afraid of being HIV positive. "A little bit of a stigma?" POTUS said.

POTUS thanked the kids for being leaders, and said "It's not easy is it?" and then we were escorted back to a hold for about 10 minutes while they talked. Then we went back up for a skit where a young girl was propositioned by two different boys but told them both to back off because her father had told her to "abstain."

The skit was really about the response of the two boys. One walked away saying the girl was ugly but the second said he was sorry for risking HIV infection and said they should both go get tested, which seemed a little odd since they were, in fact, not having sex. POTUS looked a tad uncomfortable at moments during the skit, but nothing major. He nodded when the girl said she was abstaining.

After the skit, the students presented POTUS with a walking stick or cane of some sort that looked to be covered with black and white animal hair or fur. FLOTUS got a gift basket.

The motorcade rolled out at 4:10, and was at the airport 10 minutes later. POTUS and Kagame shook hands with a group of about 30 Rwandan soldiers in camo just back from a peacekeeping mission in Darfur, and it was wheels up moments later.

Air Force One landed just after 7 p.m. local in Accra, and POTUS was down the stairs at 7:10, to a short receiving line, and then some dancers and drummers, but no formal ceremony. Motorcade rolled out at 7:30, and drove about 10 minutes through streets packed with people sometimes as close as a few feet away from the vehicles. We were at the hotel by 7:45.

-- Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

We are with President Bush in Accra, Ghana, now.

Here are some more details on what Bob Geldof said to reporters in Rwanda that I didn't have time to post before we left for afternoon activities in Kigali.

Mr. Geldof said that he and Bono, U2's lead singer, have "gotten a lot of flak" for saying that Mr. Bush has done more for Africa than any other U.S. president.

Mr. Geldof said that "the main thing now is asking the candidates, 'What are you going to do?'"

Mr. Bush, said Mr. Geldof, has "put in place a whole foundation" in the form of aid for disease prevention, government institution building with accountability measures, and investing capital in African countries to build up their economies.

"The next guy really must take it on," Mr. Geldof said, referring to the next president.

While on Air Force One, Mr. Geldof spent about an hour with Mr. Bush in an interview that he is using for a piece in Time magazine and some European outlets.

He told me afterward, on the tarmac here after we landed, that one of his goals as an advocate for Africa is to create so much media attention around the issue of African aid and development that the U.S. presidential candidates are forced to visit the continent.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

KIGALI, Rwanda — Bob Geldof has parachuted into the White House travel pool here in Rwanda, and will join us on the flight from Air Force One to Ghana tonight.

He's going to interview President Bush for Time magazine and several European outlets, such as Liberacion, about aid to Africa for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and business development.

Mr. Geldof is an Irish rock and roll singer and longtime social activist who has helped, along with U2 rocker Bono, raise awareness about need in Africa. His most well known achievement is organizing the Live Aid concert in 1985, which raised money for debt relief for poor African countries.

But Mr. Geldof has remained closely engaged with African affairs since then, and he spoke off the cuff to reporters today who were waiting for a press conference with Mr. Bush and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Mr. Geldof praised Mr. Bush for his work in delivering billions to fight disease and poverty in Africa, and blasted the U.S. press for ignoring the achievement.

Mr. Bush, said Mr. Geldof, "has done more than any other president so far."

"This is the triumph of American policy really," he said. "It was probably unexpected of the man. It was expected of the nation, but not of the man, but both rose to the occasion."

"What's in it for [Mr. Bush]? Absolutely nothing," Mr. Geldof said.

Mr. Geldof said that the president has failed "to articulate this to Americans" but said he is also "pissed off" at the press for their failure to report on this good news story.

"You guys didn't pay attention," Geldof said to a group of reporters from all the major newspapers.

Bush administration officials, incidentally, have also been quite displeased with some of the press coverage on this trip that they have viewed as overly negative and ignoring their achievements.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

DAR ES SALAAM — Say hello to the American dream in Tanzania.

Her name is Flotea Masawe, a mother of five who decided 16 years ago that her husband's salary wasn't enough for their family, and that she could do something about it.

I visited Flotea's former home today, the living room where she began her textile handicraft and accessory business which is now called "Marvelous Flotea Co. Ltd." You can visit their website here.

Flotea began by making pillow cases by hand in 1992, six years after Tanzania lifted socialist controls on the private sector. Flotea's former home is now undergoing construction to become a mini-factory, complete with offices, stock rooms, and a production floor with 26 sewing machines, with about 34 employees.

The bag you see her holding in her hands above is a sample product that is currently being considered for an order of 3,000 to 4,000 by Macy's Inc. Hallmark is also considering an order of 10,000 to 20,000 hand sewn puppets.

Flotea's equipment and staff expansion is the result of a grant from the U.S. African Development Foundation, who I mentioned in my story today on aid to Africa.

USADF's point main in Tanzania, Jon Halverson, is also the guy who took me to the village outside Dar es Salaam on Saturday, which you can read about here.

Flotea's building expansion is being paid for with a bank loan and some savings she put away with profits from her business.

Here is Flotea in part of the under construction building, with workers in the background in another part of the complex.

Here is a video of Napendaeli Sem, who works for a Tanzanian business consulting firm partnering with USADF, showing the way to Flotea's "workshop." It gives you a feel for the kind of neighborhood in which Flotea's business sprang up.

I also have some great video of Flotea showing the place in her living room where she started her business, which is on the verge of now becoming a genuine mid-size business

I intend to post that video, along with some others, when I finish the larger story I am writing on economic development in Africa, after this trip is over. So stay tuned for that.

Finally, you can read a basic summary of President Bush's day in Arusha, Tanzania today by clicking here.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Over the last two days, I asked various Tanzinians who I interacted with about Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid. You can read the entire article here, but here one of the most interesting quotes is below:

There is no doubt that the prospect of a black U.S. president with direct roots to this continent is forcing Africans to grapple with how they think of America.

"America has changed. I see it accepting things I did not think it would accept when I was there," said Otto Ringia, a consulting company operations manager, who earned a Master's degree at Colorado State University in the mid-1980s.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — As the world tries to grapple with decades of failed attempts to alleviate disease, poverty and war in Africa, the Bush administration says that a new paradigm for aid to the continent is emerging that in many ways is spontaneous and unplanned.

Read the rest here.

You also can read my story on yesterday's news here.

AP photo

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

President Bush, while in Tanzania today, called former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan about the current negotiations in Kenya aimed at a power-sharing agreement between warring factions.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is with Mr. Bush and first lady Laura Bush on their five-country swing through Africa, will visit Kenya tomorrow to meet with Mr. Annan and the leaders of the two Kenyan groups.

Mr. Bush called Mr. Annan "to thank him for the important work he is doing in Kenya to bring the parties together," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

"They also discussed Secretary Rice's trip on Monday to Nairobi," Mr. Johndroe said.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

The U.S. has given hundreds of millions of dollars to Tanzania to fight HIV/AIDS and malaria, but there are also many churches and faith-based groups that come to Africa to help people infected with these diseases.

President Bush and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete talked about the U.S. programs at a press conference here in Dar es Salaam today, but when we got back to our press hotel, I ran into a few Americans here to help out themselves.

Lamar Green, from Woodstock, Ga., was with four or five other members of a group called Never Alone Ministries. They were setting out from the hotel, in a van packed with luggage, for a city about three hours west of Dar es Salaam called Morogoro.

In Morogoro, Mr. Green said, 80 percent of the people have malaria, and 60 percent have AIDS.

Never Alone was delivering medicines to the village that were donated by drug companies.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

Unfortunately my camera is not functioning right now, so there are no images or video of the scene I describe below, which is a shame. But the words will have to suffice for now.

This is a report that went out to all White House reporters. I wrote the report this morning because each of the newspaper reporters that cover the White House full time rotate into what is called the "pool" of reporters that go with President Bush to events where the full press corps can't go. On this trip to Africa, many of the president's events are "pool only."

______

Pool Report #1

Meeting with President Kikwete at the State House

Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008

Wait til you see these pictures.

POTUS rolled from the hotel at 8:28 am on this fine, sunny morning. Four minutes later we were out of the vans and walking briskly toward the State House, then running as we heard drums beating and people cheering.

We ran through the gate to the compound and saw a throng of people lining a red carpet, with POTUS and President Kikwete already on their way among them toward the massive white building.

We had to do more running along the route of the crowd, but I did stop to look at them. They were mostly younger, wearing white shirts and waving U.S. and Tanzanian flags. One man was blowing a trumpet as the two leaders walked by (his trumpet was one of what sounded like a few dozen or so). The noise and the heat and the excitement were cacaphonous. It sounded like several marching bands were playing simultaneously but together. The two leaders walked slowly but I didn't see them shaking hands with the crowd. Maybe it's the influence of the recent Middle East trip, but besides the lack of palm branches and hosannas, the atmosphere was something like a triumphal entry.

At the top of a large stairway we stopped running, and saw men on both sides of an arch way beating massive drums. Four others beat smaller drums that were still pretty big.

The two leaders stopped reached the top of the stairs and watched for a moment. POTUS said, "This is great," and smiled. They then walked up the steps and inside.

A few moments later we were rushed in to the meeting room and saw POTUS sitting in a chair on the left, Kikwete on the right. They shook hands and smiled. I thought POTUS might be enamored enough with his reception to talk off the cuff about it and asked him what he thought.

He didn't like the question very much.

"You can ask me that question at the press conference," he said.

Your pool went upstairs to cool down and are now awaiting the promised questioning outside the state house.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times

My final print version story in Sunday's paper is online. It varies from the earlier web piece in that it includes some news on Kenya, and some new descriptions about President Bush's welcome in Tanzania.

— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times