John King: Bush vacation agenda

John King is CNN's senior White House correspondent. He joined the CNN.com chat room from CNN's Washington, D.C. bureau.

CNN: Thank you for joining us today, John King, and welcome.

JOHN KING: Hello and good morning.

CNN: What does President George W. Bush have planned for his vacation?

KING: Most of all some rest and time on the ranch, but there is also a fair amount of work to be done. He has to make his decision on stem cell funding and the White House is debating a fall agenda: not just strategy in dealing with Congress on the patients' bill of rights and spending issues, but also more presidential travel to promote other issues like education.

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CHAT PARTICIPANT: What is the Bush administration's objective for the remainder of the year into next?

KING: Well, the question is fairly broad. Certainly the number one legislative priority right now is education. And HMO reform and probably prescription drugs for Medicare recipients will be major issues. But the Democrats also will have some say over the agenda in Congress. So it will be a give-and-take period not unlike what we saw last week in the debate over the patients' bill of rights.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Any hint as to Bush's leaning on stem cell funding?

KING: No hints, except that as a candidate he said he would oppose it, so some speculate that the fact it is taking so long seems to suggest he is thinking of changing his position. He has promised a decision this month before Congress comes back from its recess.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Are most of the members of Congress actually returning to their districts during the break?

KING: Yes, there are always international congressional trips and other meetings during these breaks but most members go home for a good portion of the recess, and summer vacations also are a factor.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: I heard Sen. Thomas Daschle (D-SD) on C-Span saying they will fight for more money for farmers when they come back since they lost to a filibuster by the GOP last week. Is Bush considering that issue?

KING: The funding levels adopted last week were in line with what the president wanted. The Democrats vowed to try again, and the farm aid issue will be one of dozens fiercely debated as Congress acts on the various government appropriations bills - meaning the meat of the budget - when it returns in September.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: What key area of HMO reform would Bush like to win in Congress?

KING: The big fight remains over liability - how much could you sue for and where would you sue. Mr. Bush gave ground on this point in the House compromise passed last week. He had previously said he favored a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages - pain and suffering - and no money for so-called punitive damages. But he agreed to $1.5 million for each category. The Senate version, though, sets much higher limits - $5 million - so there is more negotiating to be done to see if there can be a final compromise.

CNN: On Sunday, Bush's aides said that the president is planning a shift in emphasis back to some of the core "compassionate conservative" themes that he campaigned with. What is prompting this shift?

KING: There is some concern at the White House that the president has not made significant inroads among moderates and women voters, and the belief is that by spending more time talking about education, pro-immigration views and issues like literacy, he can convey a more compassionate image heading into the 2002 congressional election year.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Does the desired inroad toward moderates mean a shift back to more centrist views?

KING: It depends on the issue. Mr. Bush has long been more "centrist," to use that term, when it comes to immigration. He wants a new guest worker program that would eventually allow many people now in the United States illegally to gain permanent status. On taxes, one would hear him described more as a traditional conservative. On education it is more of a mixed bag: he faces criticism both from conservatives and liberals. But certainly having been defined in the first six months mostly by his tax cut and by the switch by Sen. James Jeffords (I-VT), the White House is eager to focus more on other issues that might be described as more centrist.

CNN: Do you have any final thoughts for us?

KING: It is interesting to see the mirror image, if you will, of how this president is viewed at six months and make a comparison to Clinton. Bush has high personal approval ratings, but people have doubts about his agenda and leadership skills if you look at poll data. Clinton's personal approval had fallen considerably, but people were behind his agenda, according to polls then. It is a reminder that things can change a lot over the course of a presidency.

CNN: Thank you for joining us today.

KING: My pleasure. Have a good week ...

John King joined the CNN.com chat room by telephone and typed for himself. This is an edited transcript of the interview which took place on Monday, August 6, 2001.