For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 24, 2002
Remarks by the President at Ferguson for Congress Luncheon
Sheraton Newark Hotel
Newark, New Jersey
12:28 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. So here's what I believe. I
believe if you find an honest person who works hard on behalf of every
citizen in the district in which he represents, a person who does in
office what he said he would do -- you need to send him back to
Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
I'm here as strong an advocate as I can be for the re-election of
Mike Ferguson to the United States Congress. (Applause.) After all,
we share some things in common. We both have got impressive mothers.
(Laughter and applause.) We both got degrees from Notre Dame.
(Laughter and applause.) Okay, it took me a 30-minute speech to get
mine. (Laughter.) We both married great women. (Applause.)
I appreciate so very much Maureen. I love her demeanor. It was an
honor to meet their children today. And I want you to know, Maureen
and Mike, that Laura sends her best. She is not town -- not in
Washington, that is. She's out in Texas with her mother, and she is
-- but, boy, she's made me proud. (Applause.) People now know why I
asked her to marry me. (Laughter.) A lot of people wonder why she
said yes, but -- (laughter).
But we're doing great. Listen, many of you said you pray for Laura
and me and the family. It is the kindest gift you can give the
President, is your prayers, and I want to thank you for that.
(Applause.)
We had a big event at the Port Authority today, and one of the --
one of my treasured Cabinet secretaries and friends came with me, and
that is your former Governor, Christie Todd Whitman. (Applause.)
Barney -- Barney's the little Scottish Terrier -- wouldn't have
happened with Christie Todd. (Laughter.) And so I thank her for her
service, but as importantly, thank her for Barney. (Laughter.)
I want to thank some candidates who are here. Doug Forerster,
running for the United States Senate, is with us. (Applause.) Scott
Garrett, running in the 5th District of New Jersey; thank you, Scott.
(Applause.) My friend Buster Soaries; thank you, Buster, for coming,
I'm glad you're here. (Applause.)
I want to thank Rodney Frelinghuysen for being here. He's a fine
member of the United States Congress. And Rodney, thank you for your
leadership. (Applause.) Frank LoBiondo is here as well. Frank, where
are you? (Applause.) He heard I was going to give a speech.
(Laughter.)
I want to thank Lew Eisenberg, my friend here from New Jersey, for
being such a great Republican National Committee Finance Chairman. I
want to thank Lew for taking time out of a busy life to serve our party
and our country. And I want to thank your Chairman, the new father.
Joe, I wish you all the very best with your new baby. Thanks for
coming. (Applause.)
So, the enemy hits us, and a lot of people were wondering how
people would respond. And Mike and Maureen spend time comforting
people. They didn't hold press conferences. They didn't hire some
camera crew to follow them around. They did the best they could
possibly do about extending love and compassion and decency to people
who hurt deeply. That's the kind of Congressman I would like to have.
(Applause.)
This was not a time for politics in our country. This was a time
to be as good an American as you could possibly be. It's a time of
great testing. These two folks passed it, passed their test with
flying colors.
And he's passed his test in the United States Congress, too. A
couple of examples: he understands, like I understand, the role of
government is not to create wealth. The role of government is to
create an environment in which the entrepreneur can flourish, in which
the small business can grow to be a big business, in which people are
willing to take risk. He understands that when you cut the people's
taxes, it's part of creating an environment that encourages job
growth.
You know, when I was running, I said -- they asked me, would you
ever deficit spend? I said, well, only if we had a recession, or a
national emergency, or a war. (Laughter.) And our economy was
floundering, and thank goodness I had allies like Mike, who agreed with
me that we needed to let people keep more of their own money. See, we
-- here's the textbook we read from. If somebody has more money in
their pocket, they're likely to spend it, and when they spend it, they
demand a good and -- or service. And when somebody demands a good or
service, somebody is going to produce a good and service. And when
somebody is producing a good or a service, somebody is working.
In Washington, they talk about statistics all the time. Here's my
attitude: so long as somebody wants to work and can't find a job, we
need to worry about that person. We need to worry less about
statistics, and more about the people -- more about people who are
trying to find a job. Tax cuts came at the right time in America, and
I'm glad Mike was by my side. And now we need to make them permanent.
(Applause.)
And I appreciate his commitment to making sure Social Security is
strong; not only strong today, and that we fulfill the promise to our
seniors today, but strong tomorrow. And as well, you need to know that
as an impressive -- as a sign of the Congress' recognition of Mike's
leadership, he's going to be one of the leaders on the floor of the
Congress, to make sure that our seniors get prescription drugs in
Medicare. (Applause.)
That doesn't happen all the time, when you've got a freshman
Congressman. You know, as they say down home, it means you've got a
good one. (Laughter.) And you need to work hard to put him back in
office. (Applause.) And that means more than showing up in
ballrooms. That means manning the phones and turning out the vote.
Many of you never get enough credit for that kind of work, here in New
Jersey or anywhere around the country. I'm here to tell you, I thank
you from the bottom of Mike's heart and my heart for your willingness
to be grassroots activists for something you believe in. And I believe
in this guy, and I know you do as well.
And what I love about Mike's background is he was a teacher. For
those of you who have been teachers, and or are teachers today, thank
you from the bottom of our heart. It's an incredibly important
profession. (Applause.) Because while homeland security is now the
top priority of the country, economic security depends upon making sure
every single child -- I don't mean a few, or some -- every child
gets a good education.
We passed a great education reform bill. Mike was by my side. He
understands it's important to set high standards. It's simple --
kind of a simple logic, but if you set low standards, guess what you're
going to get? You're going to get bad results. We believe every child
can learn. Therefore, we've set the highest of high standards. And we
believe you ought to measure.
You see, if you don't measure, how do you know if somebody is not
getting shuffling through -- get shuffled through the system? And
guess who is easy to shuffle through? Children whose parents don't
speak English as a first language, for example. (Applause.) It's so
much easier to quit on a child. Inner city African Americans, it's easy
to quit on them. But when you measure, we get to determine whether or
not the goal of every child getting educated is being met.
And if that's the case, I promise you, I'm going to praise the
teachers all over the country. However, where I find children trapped
in schools that won't teach and won't change, I demand something
different, because not one single child needs to be left behind in
America. (Applause.) And Mike understands that, and I appreciated his
support on the education matters. I appreciate his support on matters
of economic security. That is a top priority of mine, to make sure we
continue to work to expand our job base, so people can find work.
It's a top priority of mine to make sure that we protect the
homeland, too. Today I went to the Port Authority to thank the
first-responders, brave police and fire and Port Authority officials
that work so hard on behalf of the American people. You just need to
know, if you don't know, that there are a lot of people working a lot
of hours to do everything we can to prevent the enemy from attacking
America again. And I'm proud of their efforts, and I'm proud of their
response.
I went today to thank those on the front line. We can't thank them
enough for the diligence. I like to tell people that any time we get a
hint or a lead, or a piece of evidence, we're going to run it down.
We're going to make sure that the enemy -- if they think they can hit
us, they're going to have to cross some mighty big hurdles to do so.
And we're getting better at what we're doing, we really are. Today
I saw some fairly sophisticated equipment -- or very sophisticated
equipment about how to detect hazardous equipment. If somebody is
trying to ship it here, we've got a better job of risk assessment, so
that not only we can facilitate trade, but we can also make sure that
the cargo coming in is inspected.
We need to know who is coming in our country, if they're going out
when they're supposed to be going out. We need to know what is coming
in our country, if it is supposed to be the stuff that's supposed to be
coming in our country. And so therefore we're being wiser about how we
use technology with our Customs and Border and INS people.
And we need to share information better. There is no question
about it, prior to September the 11th, the FBI and CIA weren't talking
enough, and now they are on a regular basis. There's no question that
the culture of the FBI wasn't focused for homeland defense. After all,
they're charged with hauling people in that had busted the law. And
they still need to be doing that. But the world's changed, and now the
focus is on protecting the homeland.
And every morning, I talk to the Director of the FBI and the head
of the CIA, and we talk about information and how we're doing, and
what's happening with this lead. It's all part of making sure we do
everything we can to -- so I can travel the country to say we're
doing, we are doing everything we can, every possible thing, to protect
the homeland.
I think we need to do some more in Washington, D.C. I believe
strongly we need to reorganize the agencies involved with the homeland,
the defense of our homeland, into one single Cabinet agency.
Listen, I didn't run on "Vote for me, I'm going to try to make
government bigger." I understand that. And this is going to be a big
agency. But I do want to make sure that we've got authority and
responsibility aligned. There's over 100 different agencies involved
with the defense of our homeland. In order to make sure we've got the
right focus and the right culture, it seems wise to me to have them
aligned under one agency.
And so I'm asking Congress to make a tough decision: to give up a
little turf, and to do what's right on behalf of the American people,
so that I can continue to say the government is doing good.
(Applause.) And I must tell you, the response has been gratifying, the
response from both Republicans and Democrats. And I want to thank them
for that, and I just urge them to continue to work to get this done.
There's a lot to do to secure the homeland, and we will. But the
surest way to secure the homeland is to hunt the killers down one by
one and bring them to justice, which is what we're going to do.
(Applause.)
And it's going to take a while. It's going to take a while.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: You're doing a good job
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Every crowd needs a
yeller. (Laughter.) Thank you.
I'm not doing as good a job as the U.S. military is doing, though.
I'll tell you, they're doing a great job. (Applause.) The -- I
can't imagine what was going through the minds of the enemy when they
attacked us. They must have said, this country was so materialistic,
so self-absorbed, so selfish, that after September the 11th, we might
file a lawsuit or two. (Laughter.)
They found out we think differently. They did. They found out
that we love freedom, and we love our country. (Applause.)
And we're making progress, we're making progress. The other night,
when I announced the Department of Homeland Security, I told the
country that we have arrested -- we, our friends and allies, have
arrested over 2,400 people. And that's good. Some of them you never
heard about.
This is a different kind of war. This isn't a war with fronts and
tanks and industrial complexes. This is a war of this great country
fighting down shadowy killers. Nothing but a bunch of cold-blooded
killers who do not value innocent life.
And 2,400 of them is a good -- you know, we're making pretty good
progress. But you've just got to know there's more to go. And so long
as they're out there threatening us, we're going to run them down. The
think they can hide -- (applause).
I've submitted to Congress the largest defense spending increase
since Ronald Reagan was President, and I did so for two reasons. One,
any time we send our troops into harm's way, they deserve the best
equipment, the best training, and the best pay. (Applause.) And
secondly, I did so because this is going to take a while.
You know, I just, I don't have a calendar on my desk -- it's a
magnificent desk, I might add, in the -- (laughter) -- beautiful
Oval Office -- that says on such and such a date we quit. That's not
how you think when it comes to defending freedom. There is no date of
departure from this noble effort. Until we feel secure, that's the
date.
And so I work hard on a daily basis to keep our coalition intact.
And this weekend, I had the honor of calling Gloria Arroyo, the
President of the Philippines. I don't know if you remember, but they
had this little al Qaeda-type terrorist organization that captured two
Americans as well as other people. The wife lives free today in
America; the husband unfortunately died. They're called Abu Sayyaf.
Early on in the war I said, they're there in your country. We'd like
to help you. However you want the United States to help, we want to
help.
See, we're after -- any time these terrorists light, we're after
them. And I called her and congratulated her on what looks like the
demise of the head of the organization, totally disrupting it. Either
you're with us or you're against us, and she proved she was with us.
And I want to thank her for her leadership. (Applause.)
And so we're making steady, steady progress. Just one day at a
time. One day at a time. And, as you know, I'm deeply concerned not
only about shadowy terrorist networks; I'm deeply concerned about
shadowy terrorist networks teaming up with nations which have got some
of the world's worst leaders, and at the same times want to develop and
maintain the world's worst weapons.
And I'm a patient man. I'll take my time. We've got a lot of
tools at our disposal -- we've got diplomatic tools, financial tools,
military tools. But for the sake of our children, and for the sake of
freedom, we can't let the world's worst leaders threaten us or
blackmail us with the world's worst weapons. (Applause.)
I want to thank Mike for his steadfast support on this war we all
fight. This isn't that partisan battle up in the Congress. There are
no partisan battles when it comes to defending the homeland. This
isn't a Republican initiative, it's not a Democrat initiative. This is
an American initiative. And I think Congress understands that.
(Applause.)
Not only do I feel determined, I also feel that out of the evil
done to America is going to come some good. I truly believe that. I
believe that if we remain strong and steadfast, we can achieve peace.
I see a lot of youngsters here. I want them to know that my dream
is peace. I want our children -- and matter of fact, children all
around the world -- to grow up in peace. Your country doesn't seek
revenge; we seek justice. And when we went into the first battle of
this new war, we liberated a country. We didn't conquer a country, we
liberated a country. And thanks to your government and your country,
young girls go to school for the first time in Afghanistan.
(Applause.)
And I also believe here at home, out of the evil done to America
can come some incredible good as well. I do. I see -- if you want
to fight evil, love your neighbor like you'd like to be loved
yourself. If you want to fight evil, do some good. Do some good.
Help a neighbor in need. Mentor a child. Teach a child to read.
Listen, there are pockets of despair and loneliness and
hopelessness in America that we need to worry about. There are people
who hurt in this country, people who wonder, is America meant for
them? And I believe that because this nation is so compassionate and
decent, that out of the evil done to America on September the 11th will
come the good by reaching into neighborhoods with love and compassion
and decency.
I'm a strong backer of the faith-based initiative, because I
believe -- (applause) -- because I believe in providing help and
hope to those in need. Government can write a check, but what
government cannot do is put hope in people's hearts, or a sense of
purpose in people's lives. That will be done by our fellow citizens.
We will change America one soul, one conscience, one person at a time.
(Applause.)
And it's happening here in this country. Joanna Glick came out to
the airport today and then was at the Port Authority with me; she's a
17-year-old child, a high school student, who, the day after September
the 11th, started what's called Teen Freedom Corps Club in her high
school to help people in need.
You know, what made her story most interesting is her brother,
Jeremy, was on Flight 93. And so here's a child who asked the
question, what can I do to fight evil? And of course, obviously,
misses her brother and loves her brother, but immediately went out to
rally compassion and decency to help people in need.
Her brother serves as a great example of what I think is happening
in America, and why I say that out of evil will come some good. Here's
a guy, along with others, on an airplane they knew was a weapon. Told
their loved ones goodbye, told them they loved them. Said a prayer.
Said, "Let's roll." Drove the plane in the ground.
They served something greater than themselves in life. They were
willing to say, I will die to save somebody else. Joanna was willing
to say, I will work, I will set aside myself, to serve somebody else.
And that's my call to my fellow Americans. If you want to do some
good, you can fight evil by loving a neighbor just like you'd like to
be loved yourself. (Applause.)
Now, out of the evil will come some good, because this is America.
We are the greatest country, the greatest country, on the face of the
earth. It is my privilege to campaign for a congressman of that great
country, as the President of the greatest country.
God bless you all, and God bless America. (Applause.)
END 12:52 P.M. EDT
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