Remarks by the President at Fitness Challenge
Ft. McNair
Washington, D.C.
9:10 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all very much for coming.
(Applause.) I hope you feel as good as I feel. (Applause.) Great to
be outside, isn't it? Thanks for coming today.
General Jackson, thank you so very much for opening up this
beautiful running trail for me and a couple of my friends.
(Laughter.) I want to thank you, sir, and all the troops that helped
make this run successful. (Applause.) And I want to thank you and all
the troops and their families for their service to a great country.
Thank you very much for letting us come back today. (Applause.)
I want to thank those on my Cabinet who are here. I see the
Secretary of HUD here, Mel Martinez. (Applause.) Ann Veneman is here
-- where's Ann? Annie, good going, good to see you. Thank you all
for coming. (Applause.) Robert Zoellick, Trade Minister -- where is
Zoellick? (Applause.) He left. (Laughter.) He didn't know he was
going to get introduced.
I want to thank Debbie LeHardy for the Race for the Cure, and Tara
Wolf Monaco, as well, for helping organize this. Thank you for your
-- (applause.) The Race for the Cure is a fantastic event. It raises
money for a great cause, and they know how to organize well. Thank you
all for setting this up for us.
I want to thank my friend, Paul Carrozza, who's a member of the
President's Council on Physical Fitness, for being here, as well. Paul
is a -- (applause) -- he's a fellow Texan. Yeah! (Applause.) If
you're ever in Austin you might want to stop by his store and buy a
couple pairs of shoes from him. (Laughter.)
I want to thank the great athletes from the Special Olympics who
are here today to help us register. (Applause.) These athletes
registered people to volunteer, as well. They're going to represent
the country in the 2003 World Games in Ireland. Kevin Boyd is here with
us today; Lindsey Wilkes. (Applause.) Kevin Gafford and Daniel
Bailey. (Applause.) Thank you all for coming. (Applause.) Good luck
at the Olympic Games, too. (Applause.)
Sir, I'll be down there and get it in a minute.
I want to thank Fresh Fields and Dasani Water -- make sure you
drink a lot of that today. (Laughter.) At least that's what Dr. Tubb
told me. (Laughter. And Starbucks, for helping to sponsor this
event.
I want to thank you all for agreeing not only to set a good
example, but agreeing to help a neighbor in need. As you might
remember, part of the entry fee -- or the entry fee is the
willingness for you to give of your time and money to help a local
charity here. And if you haven't signed up yet, I was serious about
that being part of the entry fee. I think it's important for all of us
who are fortunate enough to be able to run and be healthy to help
others who might not be as fortunate.
So thanks for agreeing to do that. It's important for those of us
in the White House to live how we talk. If we're going to say we're
going to live a healthy life, let's do it. If we say we care about a
neighbor in need, we want to love a neighbor like we'd like to be loved
ourselves, let's show it through our actions.
So I want to thank you for the example. It's really important for
the White House team to exercise on a regular basis. I hope you
understand at least that's how the boss thinks. (Laughter and
applause.) I expect you to -- I think you're -- I know, I don't
think, I know you're a better worker if you exercise on a daily basis.
I know you'll help keep the health care costs down in America if you
exercise on a daily basis. (Laughter.) I know your life will be more
complete if you exercise and serve a neighbor in need.
And, you know, we're not here for long. But when we're here, let's
make sure we give it our all. And one way to do so is to stay healthy
and fit, have a great outlook in life.
And so thanks for joining us today. It's been a fantastic event.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Make sure you stretch
afterwards. Get in a good nap. (Laughter.) And show up to work on
time on Monday. (Laughter.)