Lancecastor
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White House official: Bush apparently didn't visit space center as governor
Tuesday, February 4, 2003
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(02-04) 17:51 PST SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) --
Reversing course, the White House said Tuesday night that President Bush apparently never visited here while he was governor of Texas.
The issue arose Monday when White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, dismissing suggestions Bush was uninterested in the NASA program before the Columbia crash, told reporters the president visited in 1995 or 1996, when he was governor.
"To the president's recollection, he thinks he has been there," his spokesman said aboard Air Force One en route to a memorial service Tuesday for the crew of the Columbia shuttle. "I think right now it's somewhat murky."
But some of his colleagues didn't like that answer because they feared it would keep the two-day contretemps alive. So they told Fleischer to put the issue to rest upon return to Washington Tuesday night.
"The riddle is solved," he said shortly after Air Force One landed. "Staff recalled that the president went to Johnson Space Center, but upon further review it appears he did not go as governor."
He left open the possibility Bush had visited before becoming governor but said the White House would not investigate the matter further.
As for the question of Bush's interest in NASA, Fleischer acknowledged that the president has never seen a NASA launch or landing, saying that was in part because there are so many other beautiful things to see in the country.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/02/04/national2015EST0802.DTL
Tuesday, February 4, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(02-04) 17:51 PST SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) --
Reversing course, the White House said Tuesday night that President Bush apparently never visited here while he was governor of Texas.
The issue arose Monday when White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, dismissing suggestions Bush was uninterested in the NASA program before the Columbia crash, told reporters the president visited in 1995 or 1996, when he was governor.
"To the president's recollection, he thinks he has been there," his spokesman said aboard Air Force One en route to a memorial service Tuesday for the crew of the Columbia shuttle. "I think right now it's somewhat murky."
But some of his colleagues didn't like that answer because they feared it would keep the two-day contretemps alive. So they told Fleischer to put the issue to rest upon return to Washington Tuesday night.
"The riddle is solved," he said shortly after Air Force One landed. "Staff recalled that the president went to Johnson Space Center, but upon further review it appears he did not go as governor."
He left open the possibility Bush had visited before becoming governor but said the White House would not investigate the matter further.
As for the question of Bush's interest in NASA, Fleischer acknowledged that the president has never seen a NASA launch or landing, saying that was in part because there are so many other beautiful things to see in the country.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/02/04/national2015EST0802.DTL
