Reply #47: His Response On May 19, 2003

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Great question by Russell Mokhiber...he rarely gets to ask questions but when he does they're zingers.

http://www.commondreams.org/ari/0519-10.htm
Ari & I
White House Press Briefing with Ari Fleischer
Monday, May 19, 2003 - 1:15 PM
by Russell Mokhiber

Mokhiber: Ari, one of your predecessors, Jerald terHorst, resigned as President Ford's press secretary, he said, as a matter of conscience - because he couldn't defend President Ford's pardon of President Nixon. I was wondering, is there anything President Bush has done as President, that made you think, even for a moment, that you would resign as a matter of conscience?

Ari Fleischer: No.

Mokhiber: Not for a moment.

Fleischer: Not for a moment. Why should there be?

Mokhiber: Well -

Fleischer: Like I said, this is a man in whom I believe deeply. One of the things that is so fascinating about this job is that is a job that is very hard to leave. There is a tremendous attraction to the White House, there is a tremendous sense of worth, of serving the President of the United States - any President. It is a hard place to leave, because it such an attractive place to be, and especially when you work for a man, like President Bush, in whom I believe so deeply. But ultimately, it still comes down to having a sense of yourself and knowing when it is time to go. And like I said this morning, I never intended to be a government for life type. After 21 years, I'm looking forward to pursuing different adventures, different chapters, spending more time the way most Americans do - which is quietly with your family."

The old "spending more time with my family" routine.
I think his mother made him do it. She's a Democrat. :)