White House: Fundraisers will remain closed to press

The White House said Wednesday morning that it does not anticipate any change in a policy that does not allow reporters to cover President Bush’s remarks at closed fundraisers despite recent comments he made at such an event that have raised eyebrows.

At a fundraiser last week for Republican Pete Olson, who is challenging Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas), the president, explaining ongoing economic struggles, said, “Wall Street got drunk.”

{mosads}“There’s no question about it,” Bush said. “Wall Street got drunk; that’s one of the reasons I asked you to turn off the TV cameras. It got drunk and now it’s got a hangover. The question is, How long will it sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments?”

Those remarks, which were acquired and posted on YouTube by an ABC affiliate in Houston, piqued the interest of White House reporters.

White House press secretary Dana Perino was pressed Wednesday morning as to whether there would be any change in the policy that doesn’t allow a pool reporter to cover the event or provide a transcript of the president’s remarks.

Perino noted that she inherited that policy, and she said she does not expect it to change.

She did concede that the president's remarks were “certainly a more colorful way” of making the same case he has made before. 

Perino said all public figures have to be “guarded” in their remarks in the era of YouTube and other technological advances, and it’s important that the president be afforded opportunities, including off-the-record talks with reporters, where he can speak candidly.