For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 30, 2003
Bush-Cheney 2004 Remarks
Remarks by the President at Bush-Cheney 2004 Reception
Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay
Tampa, Florida
6:04 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thanks you all very much. Thanks for coming out.
I appreciate the warm welcome on a warm day. (Laughter.) I'm so
honored to be here with my brother. You know, he and I share the same
political consultant -- (laughter) -- our mother. (Laughter and
applause.) She doesn't charge very much for her advice, but she gives
plenty of it, I can assure you. (Laughter.)
But I appreciate Jeb -- talk about swamping somebody, he knows the
definition of "swamp" when it comes to political campaigns.
(Applause.)
I want to thank you all so very much for your help today. We're
laying the groundwork for a national campaign -- a national campaign
that I believe will result in a great victory in November 2002.
(Applause.)
I'm going to count on you not only for help such as the help you've
given tonight, but I'm going to count on you to energize the
grass-roots, to talk to your neighbors, talk to people who are making
up their minds to put the signs in the yard and help spread our
message, which is a message that's optimistic and hopeful, a message
that speaks to all Americans.
There's plenty of time for politics and I'm going to loosen it up
and I'm getting ready. But in the meantime, I'm focused on the
people's business in Washington, D.C. I've got a job to do.
(Applause.)
I will do my job. And I will continue to work, work hard, to earn
the confidence of our fellow citizens by keeping this nation secure and
strong and prosperous and free. (Applause.)
I regret that Laura didn't travel from Crawford to Florida today,
she had some business in Washington, D.C. But if she were here, I
probably wouldn't be able to lavish the praise on her that I feel like
lavishing tonight. She is a fabulous First Lady, a great wife. I love
her dearly. (Applause.)
I appreciate all the folks that have shown up, the elected
officials. I'm glad the Lieutenant Governor Toni Jennings is with us
today. I appreciate a man I call "Red" -- that's Congressman Adam
Putnam. He's done a heck of a good job for the folks here in Florida.
(Applause.) I want to thank your attorney general, Charlie Crist for
coming. Charlie, it's good to see you. (Applause.) Tom Gallagher,
the chief financial officer for the state of Florida is here.
(Applause.)
I want to thank the co-chairman of the finance campaign for the
state of Florida, Zach Zachariah and Tom Petway from Jacksonville,
Florida. (Applause.) I want to thank my friend, Al Hoffman, for his
hard work and thank my friend Al Austin, from right here in Tampa. I
want to thank all the co-chairmen who've worked hard. (Applause.) And
I'm really here to thank you all. I appreciate your confidence. I
appreciate your care, and I appreciate your concern about the future of
this country.
In the last two-and-a-half years, this nation has acted decisively
to confront great challenges. I came to office to solve problems, not
to pass them on to future Presidents and future generations.
(Applause.) I came to seize opportunities, instead of letting them
slip away. We are meeting the test of our time. (Applause.)
Terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is
what they got. (Applause.) We have captured or killed many key al
Qaeda leaders, and the rest of them know we're hot on their trail. In
Afghanistan and in Iraq, we gave ultimatums to terror regimes. Those
regimes chose defiance, and those regimes are no more. (Applause.)
Fifty million people in those two countries once lived under tyranny,
and now they live in freedom. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half-years ago, our military was not receiving the
resources it needed and morale was beginning to suffer. We increased
the defense budget to prepare for the threats of a new era. Today, no
one in the world can question the skill and the strength and the spirit
of the United States military. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half-years ago, we inherited an economy in recession.
Then the attacks came on our country, and scandals in corporate America
and war affected the people's confidence. But we acted. We passed
tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account. And to get the
economy going again, we have twice led the United States Congress to
pass historic tax relief for the American people. (Applause.)
We know that when Americans have more take-home pay to spend, save
or invest, the whole economy grows and people are more likely to find
work. (Applause.) We understand whose money we spend in Washington:
it is not the government's money, it is the people's money.
(Applause.)
So money is being returned to hard-working families. We're
reducing the taxes on dividends and capital gains to encourage
investment. We're giving small businesses proper incentives to expand
and to hire new people. With all these actions, we are laying the
foundation for greater prosperity so that every single person in our
country can realize the American Dream. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half years ago, there was a lot of talk about education
reform in Washington, but there wasn't much action. So I called for,
and Congress passed, the No Child Left Behind Act. With a solid
bipartisan majority, we delivered the most dramatic education reforms
in a generation. We're bringing high standards and strong
accountability measures to every public school in America. We believe
every child can learn the basics of reading and math. And we expect
every school to teach the basics of reading and math. (Applause.) We
are challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations. The days of
excuse-making are over. And now we expect results in every classroom
so that not one child is left behind. (Applause.)
We reorganized the government and created a Department of Homeland
Security to better safeguard our borders and ports and to protect the
American people. We passed trade promotion authority to open up new
markets for America's farmers and ranchers and entrepreneurs. We
passed a budget agreement to help maintain spending discipline in
Washington, D.C. On issue after issue, this administration acts on
principle, keeps its word and makes progress on behalf of the American
people. (Applause.)
The United States Congress shares in these great achievements, and
I appreciate their hard work. And we will continue to work together to
change the tone in Washington, D.C., and to focus on results on behalf
of all the American people. And that's the nature of the folks I've
asked to serve in my administration. I have put together a great team
on behalf of America. (Applause.)
We got a fine group of folks who work on behalf of the American
people. We've had no finer Vice President in the nation's history than
Dick Cheney. (Applause.) Although, mother may have a different
opinion. (Laughter.)
In two-and-a-half years, we have come far, but our work is only
beginning. I set great goals worthy of this great nation. First,
America is committed to expanding the realm of freedom and peace -- not
only for our own security, but for the benefit of the entire world.
And, second, in our own country, we must work for a society of
prosperity and compassion so that every citizen has a chance to work
and succeed and realize the great promise of our country.
It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depend on the
actions of America. This nation is freedom's home and freedom's
defender. We welcome this charge of history, and we're keeping it.
(Applause.)
Our war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle
-- and neither are we. This country will not rest, we will not tire
and we will not stop until this danger to civilization is removed.
(Applause.) Yet, our national interest involves more than eliminating
aggressive threats to our safety. Our greatest security comes from the
advance of human liberty because free nations do not support terror;
free nations do not attack their neighbors; and free nations do not
threaten the world with weapons of mass terror. (Applause.)
Americans believe that freedom is the deepest need and hope of
every human heart. And we believe that freedom is the right of every
person. And we believe that freedom is the future of every nation.
(Applause.)
America also understands that unprecedented influence brings
tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in the world. And when we
see disease and starvation and hopeless poverty, we will not turn
away. On the continent of Africa, which Laura and I will be visiting
next week, America is now committed to bringing the healing power of
medicine to millions of men and women and children who are now
suffering with AIDS. This great land is leading the world in this
incredibly important work of human rescue. (Applause.)
We face challenges abroad and we face them at home. And our
actions prove that we're equal to those challenges, as well. I will
continue to work on our economy until everybody who wants to work and
is not working today can find a job. (Applause.)
And we have a duty to keep our commitment to America's seniors, by
strengthening and modernizing Medicare. Last week, the United States
Congress took historic action to improve the lives of older Americans.
For the first time since the creation of Medicare, the House and Senate
have passed reforms to increase choices to our seniors and to provide
coverage for prescription drugs.
The next step is for both Houses to come together, to iron out
details and get a bill to my desk. The sooner they finish the job, the
sooner America's seniors will get the health care they need.
(Applause.)
And for the sake of our health care system, we need to cut down on
the frivolous lawsuits which increase the cost of medicine.
(Applause.) People who have been harmed by a bad doc deserve their day
in court. Yet, the system should not reward lawyers who are simply
fishing for rich settlements. (Applause.)
Because frivolous lawsuits drive up the cost of health care, they
affect the federal budget. And, therefore, medical liability reform is
a national issue which requires a national solution. (Applause.) I
ask you to contact your United States senators to make your voices
heard. (Applause.) No one has ever been healed by a frivolous
lawsuit; this nation needs medical liability reform now. (Applause.)
And so does the state of Florida. (Applause.)
I have a responsibility as President to make sure the judicial
system runs well. And I have met that duty. I have nominated superb
men and women for the federal courts -- people who will interpret the
law, not legislate from the bench. (Applause.) Some members of the
United States Senate are trying to keep my nominees off the bench by
blocking up-or-down votes. Every judicial nominee deserves a fair
hearing and an up-or-down vote on the floor of the Senate. It is time
for members of the United States Senate to stop playing politics with
American justice. (Applause.)
Congress needs to pass a comprehensive energy plan. Our nation
must promote energy efficiency, new conservation techniques and develop
technologies that will make exploration for natural gas more safe and
more green. But for the sake of economic security and for the sake of
national security, we need to be less dependent on foreign sources of
energy. (Applause.)
Our strong and prosperous nation must be a compassionate nation.
We'll continue to advance our agenda of compassionate conservatism,
applying the best and most innovative ideas to the task of helping our
fellow citizens in need. There's still millions of men and women who
want to end their dependence on government and become independent
through work.
We must build on the success of welfare reform to bring work and
dignity into the lives of more of our fellow citizens. Congress should
complete the Citizens Service Act so that more Americans can serve
their communities and their country. Both Houses should reach an
agreement on my faith-based initiative to support the armies of
compassion that are mentoring children or caring for the homeless and
offering hope to the addicted.
A compassionate society must also promote opportunity for all,
including the independence and dignity that come from ownership. This
administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society
in America. We want more of our citizens owning their own home.
(Applause.) We want people to own and manage their own health care
plan. We want people to own and manage their own retirement accounts.
We want more small business owners in America. (Applause.) We
understand that when a person owns something, he or she has a vital
stake in the future of our country. (Applause.)
In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take
responsibility for the decisions they make in life. We're changing the
culture of America from one that said, if it feels good, just go ahead
and do it, if you got a problem blame somebody else -- to a culture in
which each of us understands that we are responsible for the decisions
we make in life. (Applause.)
If you are fortunate enough to be a mother or father, you're
responsible for loving your child with all your heart. (Applause.) If
you're concerned about the quality of education in your community,
you're responsible for doing something about it. (Applause.) If
you're a CEO in corporate America, you're responsible for telling the
truth to your shareholders and your employees. (Applause.)
And in a responsibility society, each of us is responsible for
loving our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved ourselves. We can
see the culture of service and responsibility growing around us.
I started what we call the USA Freedom Corps to encourage Americans
to extend a compassionate hand to neighbors in need. And the response
has been strong. All across our country, the faith-based institutions
and charities are vibrant, bringing hope to people who suffer. And
policemen and firefighters and people who wear our nation's uniform are
reminding us what it means to sacrifice for something greater than
yourself. (Applause.) Once again, the children of America believe in
heroes because they see them every day.
In these challenging times, the world has seen the resolve and the
courage of America. And I've been privileged to see the compassion and
the character of the American people. All the tests of the last
two-and-a-half years have come to the right nation. We're a strong
country, and we use that strength to defend the peace. We're an
optimistic country, confident in ourselves and in ideals bigger than
ourselves.
Abroad, we seek to lift whole nations by spreading freedom. At
home, we seek to lift up lives by spreading opportunity to every corner
of our country. This is the work that history has set before us. We
welcome it. And we know that for our country and for our cause, the
best days lie ahead.
May God bless you, and may God continue to bless America.
(Applause.) Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
END 6:27 P.M. EDT
|