President Bush to Address U.N. General Assembly
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Suzanne Malveaux is over at the White House. The president preparing today to deliver a hugely important address tomorrow before the U.N. General Assembly. Suzanne is joining us with a bit of a preview. I take it Iraq is at the top of that agenda, Suzanne?</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely, Wolf. The president returned from Camp David, really facing some critical tasks ahead of him. Of course, tomorrow, when he goes before the U.N. General Assembly. This is the same group that rejected the war resolution. He now goes before them asking for help to clean up the aftermath of that war. It was last year that the president actually suggested that the U.N. risk becoming irrelevant if it didn't take on Saddam Hussein's defiance. This really the White House acknowledging that, yes, the U.N. is anything but irrelevant. Now, White House aides are telling us this is the way the address is going to go. It is going to be a call to action focusing on these things. First of all, he is going to say that U.S. and its allies were right to go to war, that it is time to put differences aside and move on, that it's in the world's interest to support reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq. And then, also, there is a need to attack other global issues, like the spread of weapons of mass destruction, as well as combating AIDS. I should also let you know, Wolf, that this U.N. Security Council resolution, aides telling us there is a compromise on the table. That the president would like to see an expanded role for the United Nations. Perhaps they can oversee the elections, help with writing the constitution. One thing they are not going to compromise on, that is the timeable for turning over power back to the Iraqis. They say it is going to take some time before that actually happens. Some other members want it to happen much faster -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Suzanne, the president juggling a lot of issues today, including the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel. He's down in Virginia meeting with people this afternoon to deal with the fallout. Give our viewers a sense of what is going on.</s>MALVEAUX: It has been very, very tough for residents in Virginia. As you had mentioned before, at least 35 people have lost their lives because of Hurricane Isabel, 19 from Virginia. The president is visiting Richmond, Virginia. He's going to take a fly over, see the damage from a bird's eye view. He's also going to be thanking some of the utility crews, the volunteers that have been hard at work. His spokesman, Scott McClellan, said that there is still 1.7 million without power. This is a top priority, he said, for the president. When asked why it was taking so long, if the president was frustrated by this, he said, no, that he really believes and he's proud that federal and state officials in this situation have acted to cooperate in such a timely manner. He calls it they were doing an outstanding job. But still, a lot of problems in that region.</s>BLITZER: No doubt about it, as we can all personally testify here in the greater Washington, D.C. area as well. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thanks very much.