Text: Bush and Howard News Conference

President Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard, left, participate in a joint press availability in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 16, 2006. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert - AP)

Look, ours is a world in which sometimes people tell you something, and they don't mean it. It's _ in order to work together, to make difficult decisions, decisions of war and peace, decisions of security, decisions of trade, you've got to have an _ you know, somebody you talk to that tells you straight up what's on their mind.

You know, politics sometimes produces people that'll tell you one thing and don't mean it. It's really hard to be making rational decisions if somebody you're talking to just doesn't level with you.

And that's what I like about John Howard, you know? He may not be the prettiest person on the block ... (LAUGHTER) ... but when he tells you something, you can take it to the bank. He is, he is a reliable partner. And we don't agree on 100 percent, of course.

But the interesting thing talking to John Howard is that you can trust the man. And that's what is a necessary ingredient to be working together for the common good.

And I also appreciate a person who is capable of standing by a decision. I remember the campaign. As a matter of fact, your campaign was right before my campaign. And John Howard stood strong.

And I remember telling somebody _ and the polls didn't look all that good I guess at one point in time _ and I remember saying to somebody: This man is going to be rewarded at the ballot box because the people of Australia want somebody who is consistently strong, not somebody who tries to waffle around trying to figure out, you know, where to end up for political expediency.

You know, people may not agree with his position on every issue, but people have got to agree with the fact that he's a man of conviction. And that's the essence of leadership: courage and conviction.

And so we've got a relationship that is based upon, you know, respect, and I respect him. I've seen him in action. I've seen what it means to have, you know, him being pressured, probably by your newspaper ... (LAUGHTER) ... and I've seen him stand strong and that's what's needed in this world.

Q: Thank you, sir. On immigration, some worry that the U.S. military is stretched too thin. How effective can these National Guard troops be if they're shuttling in and out of the border area every two or three weeks?

And how are you going to turn around these House members who seem to be unswayed by your argument on the guest worker program?

BUSH: The program to put Guard on the border is one that will enable the Border Patrol to do its job better. It's very important for the American people to know it's the Border Patrol that's going to be on the front line of apprehending people trying to sneak into our country. And the Guard will be doing a variety of functions, which I outlined last night.

Secondly, the Guard is _ the 6,000 _ up to 6,000 Guard in the first year of operation really is not going to put a strain on our capacity to fight and win the war on terror, as well as deal with natural disasters.