President Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder participated in a roundtable discussion with a pre-selected group of German young professionals Wednesday. Here is a partial transcript.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
BUSH: This is a good opportunity for me to really listen to what you have to ask and tell me about a lot of things.
I'm interested in economy, the entrepreneurial spirit. I'm interested in attitudes about freedom and peace. I'm interested to know, obviously, what you think about -- answer questions about policies that I've decided.
I obviously know there's a lot of disagreement about some of the decisions I made, and I'm interested in sharing with you why I made the decisions I have made.
I really want to thank you for your time, and I appreciate your willingness to come to speak to two old guys like me and Gerhard.
BUSH: Isn't that right, Gerhard?
SCHROEDER: Older man.
BUSH: Older man.
(LAUGHTER)
But this is a fantastic moment. This is going to be one of the highlights of my trip to Europe. And I can't thank you enough for being here.
Gerhard, you want to say a few things?
OK, we'll start with the questions.
QUESTION: Mr. President, you said in a recent interview with The Washington Times that if people want to get a glimpse of how you think about foreign policy, they should read the “Case for Democracy” by Natan Sharansky.
