Bush Links Minimum Wage to Tax Break

President Bush speaks during a news conference in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson) (Lawrence Jackson - AP)

On other topics:

_Bush was asked about the pregnancy of Mary Cheney, Vice President Dick Cheney's openly gay daughter, in light of his previous statements that a child ideally should be raised by in a family headed by a married father and mother.

The president said "we ought to review law to make sure that people are treated fairly" but didn't provide specifics. Neither he nor his questioner referred to Cheney's partner, Heather Poe.

_The president said he first learned from a newspaper story Wednesday that the vice president will be called to testify in the CIA leak case on behalf of his former chief of staff. Defense attorneys for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, charged with perjury and obstruction, would not say whether Cheney was being subpoenaed _ a potential separation-of-powers issue _ but said they do not expect the vice president to resist.

"It's an interesting piece of news. And that's all I'm going to comment about an ongoing case," Bush said.

Raising the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over three years is at the top of Democratic leaders' early to-do list for next year.

GOP-crafted legislation earlier this year combined an increase with a cut in inheritance taxes on multimillion-dollar estates and the resurrection of a number of popular tax breaks, but that combination did not get through the Republican-controlled Congress.

Bush said he supports a $2.10 raise for minimum-wage earners, but over a two-year period instead of three, and added that "we should do it in a way that does not punish" small businesses.

"I support pairing it with targeted tax and regulatory relief, to help these small businesses stay competitive and to help keep our economy growing," he said.

Bush resisted any attempt to judge his presidency two years before it expires.

"I'm going to sprint to the finish. And we can get a lot done," he said. "I'm reading about George Washington still. My attitude is if they're still analyzing Number One, 43 ought not to worry about it, and just do what he think is right, and make the tough choices necessary."