For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 1, 2001
Remarks by the President During Tour of Lakewood Elementary School
Lakewood Elementary School North Little Rock, Arkansas
8:58 A.M. CST
THE PRESIDENT: Anybody got any
questions for me?
STUDENT: When our kids grow up and
read about your presidency in history books, what do you hope they'll
read?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I hope they
read that our country, our politicians are able to discuss differences
in a civil way; that there's not a lot of anger in the political
process; that you and I might disagree,
but we can respect each other when we disagree. So I hope
I've been able to help change the tone in Washington, so people
respect each other.
I hope the reading test scores are the best in
the world. I hope the world is at peace. I hope
that boys and girls who dreamt about owning their own business will be
able to do so in America, continue to do so. I hope that our
nation is one in which people who have dreams, regardless of where
you're raised, whether you can speak English -- whether your parents
speak English as a first language or not, no matter what neighborhood
you're from, will realize those dreams are possible, if you make the
right choices in life. So that's my ambitions for the
country.
STUDENT: What made you run for
President?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I thought I
could do a better job than anybody else that was running for
President. I was concerned about a country that was becoming
too bitter at times. I'm concerned that the American Dream,
the idea that you can be -- have a dream and
work hard to achieve it might not have -- is bright for everybody in
America, as I hoped. I'm worried that the education system
in some places isn't working. Concerned about a military
that -- the morale in the military wasn't high enough. I
think we need to have a strong military to keep the peace.
So I had some reasons for running, and now I'm
working to achieve them. One of the reasons I've come to
your school is to be able to talk about education. I'm also
talking about a budget plan. One of the things a President
does is submit a budget to Congress -- here's where we ought to
spend money, here's where we ought to -- and if you have any money
left over, I'm arguing we ought to give it back to the people who pay
taxes, like the teacher right here.
Now, one other thing my wife is going to do,
by the way, is she's going to go around the country encouraging people
such as yourself to think
about being a teacher when you get older. There's nothing
more important than being a teacher. So as you start to
think about your ambitions and your possible careers when you get out
of college, think about being a teacher. It's a very
important profession.
STUDENT: What is it like being
President and living in the White House?
THE PRESIDENT: It's a big
honor. It's a big honor, as I'm sure you can
imagine. It's a very exciting job. The White
House is a majestic place. It's like a museum in many ways,
and we're, of course, now turning parts of the White House into our
home. And Laura and I are the proud parents of 19-year-old
twin daughters, but they go to college so we don't see much of them
anymore. But we do have two dogs and a cat living with
us. And so all five of us are adjusting to our new home.
But it's an honor. And I hope some
day you'll come up to Washington and tour the White
House. And you'll get to see where we live. It's
a big
honor.
STUDENT: What school did you go to
when you were our age?
THE PRESIDENT: Sam Houston
Elementary School in Midland, Texas. I was raised -- you
know where Texas is, of course. Most people in Arkansas know
where Texas is, and all the people in Texas know where Arkansas is.
Anyway, it's the state right south of here. But I lived in
the western part of the state. Many people in Arkansas have
got kinfolks generally in east Texas and I lived out in west Texas,
that's where I lived. And so I went to a place called Sam
Houston Elementary School.
And I had no idea when I was your age that I
would run for President of the United States. I, frankly,
thought that what I wanted to be at the time is I wanted to be a
baseball player, just like a guy named Willie Mays. He was
my favorite player growing up. Then I realized I wasn't a
very good hitter, so I wasn't going to be like Willie Mays.
Thank you.
END
|