on it. Because this is, peace is vital here, and we've worked too hard to have that request
of mine denied. And I think the American people will support me. They know we support
Israel. I've just detailed some of what we've done. So, there should be no question about
that. I am giving the Congress -- and I did it with the leaders today, having an opportunity
here, thank you, to do it here- - to give my best judgment. And I'm up against some
powerful political forces, but I owe it to the American people to tell them how strongly I
feel about the deferral.
Q: Are those powerful political forces ungrateful for what you've done so far on a peace
process? And why doesn't the peace argument sell with them?
Bush: I think it will sell, but it's taken a little time. And we're up against a very strong and
effective, sometimes, groups that go up to the Hill. I heard today there was something
like a thousand lobbyists on the Hill working the other side of the question. We've got
one lonely little guy down here doing it. However, I like this forum better too.
This last passage was suffused with apoplectic fury. In the next question, Bush was asked
if a columnist was right in commenting on Bush's stance, "It's your obsession." Bush
denied it, but it was clear to all that he was both enraged and obsessed. [52 bis]
Later Bush and his handlers concluded that he had overdone it, especially in his attack on
the 1,000 Zionist lobbyists, and sent a letter to the heads of several Jewish organizations
repeating his demand for the delay, but also saying that he was "concerned" lest his
September 10 comments might have "caused apprehension" in the Jewish community;
Bush reassured them that he "never meant to be pejorative in any sense." In a news
analysis published 8 days later, a Washington Post observer found that Bush's "ardor is
fueled by his anger," and quoted an unnamed official that for Bush the issue of Jewish
settlements in the occupied territories was "a visceral thing." [fn 58]
September 18: In a demagogic photo opportunity at the Grand Canyon, Bush again
threatened to renew the bombing of Iraq. In remarks that recalled his psychotic rages
against Saddam Hussein during the Gulf crisis, Bush raved that he was "fed up" with
Saddam. Bush said that Saddam "may be testing and probing" his resolve, "but he knows
better than to take on the United States of America." "I think the man will see that we are
very serious about this, and he will do what he should have done in the first place:
disclose and comply."
October 11: Hoping that public attention was fixed on the Senate testimony of Anita Hill,
Bush vetoed a bill to extend unemployment payments to more than 2 million Americans
whose jobless benefits had run out. Bush had prepared this veto with a furious outburst
against such an extension. At a $1000-a-plate Republican fundraising dinner in New
Brunswick, New Jersey, Bush had lashed out angrily at a Congress which was "doing
nothing but griping -- refusing to consider the new ideas and sending me a bunch of
garbage I will not sign. I'll continue to veto the bad stuff until we get good bills." Bush's
argument was that the prolonged unemployment benefits were not needed because the
recession was over anyway. He stressed his responsibility not to break the October, 1990