Obama Gives News Conference; Obama Says Graham Wrong on DNI
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want to see how we can deepen that, how we can improve that, and maintain that economic dialogue over a long period of time. That doesn't meant that we're not going to be talking about security. I think that in my first conversation with the president, he indicated to me that he very much continues to be concerned about how we can work together to deal with trans-national drug cartels. We've made great strides in the cooperation and coordination between our two governments over the last several years. But my suspicion is that things can be improved. And some of the issues that he's talking about really had to do with refinements and improvements in terms of how Mexican authorities work with each other, how they coordinate more effectively, and it has less to do with how they're dealing with us, per se. So I'm not gonna yet judge how this will alter the relationship between the United States and Mexico until I've heard directly from them to see what exactly are they trying to accomplish. But overall what I can say is that my impression is, is that the new president is serious about reform. He's already made some tough decisions. I think he's gonna make more that will prove the economy and security of Mexican citizens. And that will improve the bilateral relationship, as well. And I don't want to leave out that we're also gonna be talking to, during my visit to Costa Rica, presidents of Central American countries, many of whom are struggling with both economic issues and security issues, but are important partners for us. Because I think the vision here is that we want to make sure that our hemisphere is more effectively integrated to improve the economy and security of all people. That's good for the United States. That will enhance our economy. That can improve our energy independence. There're a whole range of opportunities, and -- and that's gonna be the purpose of this trip And I'm sure that those of you who will have the chance to travel with me will -- will have a chance to discuss this further. All right? Thank you very much, everybody! Thank you, guys.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: So there he is the president -- hold on.</s>QUESTION: Jason Collins? You wanna say anything about?</s>OBAMA: Yeah.</s>BLITZER: There you saw the president go back to the podium to praise Jason Collins, a center for the Washington Wizards. He is now a free agent, 34 years old, a Stanford grad that came out in "Sports Illustrates" he is gay. It is very interesting to see if this center gets picked up by another one of the NBA teams or if he stays with the Washington Wizards. But from the president, on down, he is getting widespread praise for his decision to announce and to let everyone that he is gay and he is an active basketball player, a center. As I said, played this year for the Washington Wizards. The president made lots of news here at this news conference. And it was a news conference. The president announcing, for example, on Gitmo, he hasn't given up on shutting down the Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp. He wants to go back to Congress and get back on that. He says the Russians have been very cooperative with the United States as far as the investigation of the Boston bombings. As far as Syria is concerned, if, in fact, the Syrian military used chemical weapons against his own people, he reiterates that would be a game changer. He says it would result in a range of options that would be reviewed, a spectrum of options. No one really believes U.S. troops are going to be sent on the ground in Syria. As far as political questions are concerned, he did acknowledge when reporter, Jonathan Carl (ph), of ABC News, asked him if the juice was running out because he failed to deliver an expanded background checks, part of the gun legislation. He said, "Maybe I should just pack up and go home." He joked about that. He said, "Rumors of my demise may be exaggerated." Then he explained why he is going to go forward on comprehensive immigration reform. He's confident that historic legislation would be passed. Gloria Borger, you watched it all. Jessica Yellin watched it all. First, some thoughts from you, Gloria. What did you think?</s>GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: I think on closing Gitmo, he was asked about the hunger strike there. It was important I think and surprising that the president came out right away and said I'm going to go back at this. If you remember, Wolf, this was a retractable problem. He promised when first elected he would close it, and he hasn't been able to do that. The fact he's going to go back at it again, saying he's looking for allies to help him out with this, was interesting to me. One other thing that was interesting to me was that he was very careful, when talking about the Russians, not to talk about the fact when the FBI went back to the Russians on Tsarnaev and asked for more information about him -- this was when they were investigating him -- that they were effectively stonewalled and did not get the information, say, about sources that they were looking for, but now the president decided to focus instead on the fact he's talked to Putin. They were working with them on this very closely. And he admitted, quite openly, I thought, to the suspicions that still remain between the U.S. intelligence services and the Russian intelligence services. On health care, Wolf, the president defended health care. He said it's taking effect. He didn't give one ounce when asked about Max Baucus, senator from Montana, retiring, saying it was going to be a train wreck. He took issue with that. I think what you saw was the president very careful on weapons on mass destruction saying, I've got to make sure I've got the facts. It was very clear he wasn't going to be pushed on the question of red line until he understood exactly what he was looking at and the context of the information he was getting -- Wolf?</s>BANFIELD: Yes. He was very precise in his wording on that so-called red line and game changer as far as Syria and chemical weapons are concerned. He said, the U.S. didn't even know who was using these others than the fact they may have been used. Jessica Yellin, you were there. You asked an important question of Boston, the investigation. The president said he supports the director of national intelligence, Mr. Clapper, who wants to have a full review of what happened and didn't happen, to make sure important lessons are addressed. He did go after Senator Graham for the comments he made. He said Mr. Graham is not right on this issue. The president did not back off at all when he defended the FBI and the entire investigation.</s>JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Wolf. The president was unwavering in his support of FBI and the DHS and U.S. agencies in the lead up to the Boston bombing. He has, and the administration, broadly, has maintained that they've done -- the information sharing has been excellent and that there are some things, some times, when you just can't catch a terrorist act before it happens. So he sort of repeated a thing we've heard from him before, suggesting that he didn't say it quite explicitly, that Senator Graham is pushing this issue too hard. We heard it after Senator Graham attacked him over the Benghazi incident. Senator Graham is up for reelection. Perhaps there's a political back and forth over this issue is the intimation there. More broadly, Wolf, the president did confirm that the DNI Clapper is doing the intelligence review. He views that as just standard procedure, not a sign that there's something amiss or something a failure, we should see that as a sign of a failure. On the Syria question, it was worth noted briefly but worth underscoring, that he said it is a game changer if they determine they have used chemical weapons. Now he's redefining what game changer means, or telling us we don't understand, to him, what it means. It does not necessarily mean military action. It means that he is to assess what the next moves are. He wouldn't even explicitly state what his options would be if he believes that red line has been crossed. We'll now have to go back and press to find out what will happen if the red line is crossed. How is the game changed? I point out the president did come out -- did not make an opening statement. He simply said he is holding the Q and A to satisfy Ed Henry. I'll tell what that was about. As the head of the White House Correspondents Association, Ed has pressed for more access for the press, more opportunities to question the president. There's been some complaints the president has not made himself available enough to answer question. He's saying it is part of his ongoing charm offensive. He's made an effort to sit down and talk with Republicans in the Senate. He's had a series of dinners, not just with Republicans, but now with women Senators as well. And it seems now he's trying to make himself more available. Certainly, the press would welcome it. He said, in his first term, he meant to make more outreach like this, but was so busy with the financial crisis he couldn't, so perhaps he's trying to make up for it in the second term -- Wolf?</s>BLITZER: Maybe he'll invite the White House Press Corp out to dinner at some point.