Transcript: President Bush Interview, Part 2
Dec. 16 -- Following are further excerpts from Diane Sawyer's Dec. 16 interview with President Bush.
The Power of Prayer
DIANE SAWYER: Many people have expressed great interest in your faith and your religion and the role it plays. I guess — did you pray to God for the capture of Saddam Hussein?
PRESIDENT BUSH: No. I prayed to God for wisdom and strength and guidance.
DIANE SAWYER: And —
PRESIDENT BUSH: It's like saying, do you pray to God that you get a vote? No. I mean...
DIANE SAWYER: One of the questions that I guess people have is: Does your confidence come from feeling that — that God is behind you?
PRESIDENT BUSH: My confidence comes from a lot of sources. I do — I am sustained by the prayers of the people in this country. I guess an appropriate way to say this, it's one of the beautiful things about America and Americans from all walks of life is that they're willing to pray for the President and his family. And that's powerful. It's hard for me to describe to you what that means. It's — let me just say this: It's a leap of faith to understand. And — but I am a confident person, I am, because I believe in the values of America. I believe in what we stand for. I'm confident because I've got assembled a great team. ... I'm confident in my management style. I'm a delegator because I trust the people I've asked to join the team. I'm willing to delegate. That makes it easier to be president. ...
WMD Intelligence
DIANE SAWYER: Fifty percent of the American people have said that they think the administration exaggerated the evidence going into the war with Iraq, weapons of mass destruction, connection to terrorism. Are the American people wrong? Misguided?PRESIDENT BUSH: The intelligence I operated one was good sound intelligence, the same intelligence that my predecessor operated on. The — there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein was a threat. The — otherwise the United Nations might — wouldn't a passed, you know, resolution after resolution after resolution, demanding that he disarm. ... I first went to the United Nations, September the 12th, 2002, and said you've given this man resolution after resolution after resolution.