John King: Stem cell research and Bush reaction to Mideast violence

John King is CNN's senior White House correspondent. He joined the CNN.com newsroom from his office in the White House in Washington, D.C.

CNN: Good morning John King. Welcome to CNN.com Newsroom and political week in preview chat.

KING: Hello everyone.

CNN: With the president and Congress away, what's going on in Washington?

KING: There is considerable debate over the president's decision to call for limited federal funding of stem cell research using stem cells removed from embryos. And there is a budget fight looming when the Congress comes back, because the surplus is shrinking making spending decisions very difficult.

RESOURCES Message Board: Mideast peace   Message Board: Stem cells and cloning

CHAT PARTICIPANT: How will Bush reconcile advances in stem cell research with his current position of no killing embryos?

KING: The administration hopes - and says it is convinced - using the existing stem cell lines is enough to continue the research for at least three to five years if not longer. But some scientists disagree ..

CHAT PARTICIPANT: How do Republicans plan to defend the tax refund that has been made when ledgers show that it has depleted more funds than originally thought?

KING: The Republicans argue that is not the case - that the declining surplus numbers are directly attributable to slowing corporate tax revenues - corporations paying less in taxes because their profits are down. But this will be the big fight of the fall; when all the appropriations bills are up, the Democrats will argue there is not enough money because of the tax cut - and Republicans will argue that is not true, and almost dare the Democrats to vote to try to repeal the tax cut.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: What stance is the president taking on the Middle East right now?

KING: The president spoke about this just a few minutes ago in Texas. He sounded exasperated most of all - saying the Israelis and the Palestinians need to step back and decide they want to end the violence. And Mr. Bush also defended U.S. efforts to end the violence. He has been criticized by some on this front - saying the administration from the very beginning has been working diplomatic channels but that, in his view, only the parties can decide to end the violence. He again said Mr. Arafat could do more, which will likely lead to more Palestinian accusations that Mr. Bush favors Israel.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: What is the White House reaction to Russia's last statement that it does not accept the U.S. rationale for abrogating the ABM treaty? Anything?

KING: That has been the Russian position, so the White House says it is not surprised. The hope from the administration is that for all the tough talk in public there can be some progress in the behind-the-scenes negotiations - or that as the Bush decision to continue testing pushes up against the limits of the ABM treaty that the Russians will realize the United States is going to abandon the treaty and perhaps decide it might as well try to negotiate something. That is the calculation now.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: What's the latest on the vice president of the United States stonewalling the General Accounting Office over records about it's energy policy that the American people will have to live by? Don't we have the right to know with whom the VP of the U.S. is meeting with?

KING: This is a dispute that appears to be headed to court; the VP would say no .. that he has the right to have private meetings with people involved in the energy debate ... But the GAO disagrees and some Democrats in Congress disagree, so this fight is at the moment likely to end up in court.

CNN: What's the reaction over the two California newspapers calling for Gary Condit's resignation?

KING: The longer this search and the accompanying political debate go on the more likely there will be calls for the congressman's resignation. He says that is unfair, but it certainly will contribute to the debate in his district and likely back here in Washington as well, when the Congress returns next month.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: What are his constituents saying?

KING: Polling in the district has been mixed as best I can tell. Early on there was support for him. Then some questions raised as the political debate intensified. But working in Washington makes me perhaps the least qualified person in the world to speak for the people of Modesto, California.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: What are people in Washington saying about the upcoming United Nations conference on racism and the U.S. threat to boycott?

KING: The administration has said it does not view the event as particularly relevant and solution-oriented. But again this is an area where the White House is being criticized for, in the view of some, not wanting to be part of international discussions and forums.

CNN: Do you have any final thoughts for us today?

KING: There is a great debate within the conservative community - cultural conservatives - over the president's stem cell decision. If you are interested in grassroots politics and how these decisions get debated in the Internet age, visit a half dozen Web sites of these conservative organizations and you will find the debate quite interesting. It is a very emotional and moral/ethical issue but in all the political debate there is a very thoughtful discussion/debate taking place across the country.

CNN: Thanks for joining us today, John King.... See you next week...

KING: Take care .... and thank you

John King joined the chat from Washington, D.C. and typed for himself. This is an edited transcript of the interview which took place on Monday, August 13, 2001.