Bush discusses Iraq with Putin

WASHINGTON -- President Bush consulted Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the eve of an expected United Nations vote on a resolution demanding that Iraq disarm. The White House reported no commitment from Putin on the tough measure the United States seeks.\nBush's early-morning phone call to the Russian leader came amid a final diplomatic push for tough new weapons inspections, backed by threats of force if Saddam Hussein continues to skirt his disarmament obligations.\nThe administration expected a vote on a new U.S. draft resolution on Iraq Friday. Russia, France and China have resisted the American language.\nWhite House spokesman Sean McCormack said "both leaders agreed on the need to reach agreement on a strong new resolution that could lead to peaceful disarmament of Iraq through cooperation with the United Nations" and international inspectors.\nHe reported no assurances from Putin on the matter, or whether Bush had liked what he heard.\nBush reiterated his desire to work with the United Nations on this issue and the importance of the United Nations acting by passing a strong resolution, McCormack said.\nAlthough White House officials expect a vote Friday, but they have been careful to avoid setting an ultimatum.\n"It's coming to a close and it's time for the United Nations to move forward," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan, adding that "consultations are ongoing."\nSecretary of State Colin Powell said the administration remained open to revisions in its tough resolution on Iraq, but emphasized that all hard-line provisions in the draft would remain intact.\n"Iraq has been a problem for years, and it is finally coming to a head," Powell said in an interview with The Associated Press.\nBush planned a news conference Thursday afternoon, breaking a silence he has kept since Tuesday's sweeping gains by Republicans. He has not taken questions from reporters in a formal setting since Oct. 26, and has not had a wide-ranging news conference since July 8. He has had brief sessions with journalists following meetings with world leaders.\nFollowing the election that will switch the Senate to GOP control in January, the president stayed out of sight Wednesday, striving to be "gracious," spokesman Ari Fleischer said. His aides sought to play down any talk of a mandate that the elections may have handed Bush, who treated himself to a cigar.\nThere were signs that that agenda had gained momentum: Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, set to resume chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee, was already talking Wednesday about making the tax cuts Bush won last year permanent. The cuts in income and estate taxes, among others, are set to expire after a decade.\nThe president and his economic team have decided to hold off on an almost-ready-to-go bundle of new tax cuts until the GOP formally takes over Congress in January, an administration official said.\nThe official said the White House will try to get lame-duck Senate approval of a Homeland Security Department and guarantee terrorism insurance to businesses.\nBehind the scenes, White House officials wrestled with the nuts and bolts of the GOP's new status in the Senate. Many were still shaking off fatigue from a long campaign in which the White House was deeply involved, and from watching election returns deep into the night. Surprise was the order of the day in White House corridors, one official said.\nBush's liaisons to Capitol Hill grappled earlier this week with how to get through a "lame duck" session, a postelection session that starts next week. Wednesday, it was a whole new set of questions. Who would assume chairmanships in the Senate?\n"We literally need to sit here and sort it all out," said Trent Duffy, the communications director at the White House Office of Management and Budget.\nThursday evening, Bush was to attend an iftar meal for Muslims, traditionally held at the end of daylong fasts through the month of Ramadan, in the State Dining Room at the White House. He addressed the same dinner last year.