For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 10, 2003
Remarks by the President at a Luncheon for Bush-Cheney '04
Statehouse Convention Center
Little Rock, Arkansas
11:55 A.M. CST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you all very
much. Thanks for coming. Thank you. (Applause.) Please be seated,
thanks. (Applause.) Thanks for coming, thanks for the warm welcome.
I appreciate your fine words, Skinny. (Laughter.) I got off the
airplane, I wasn't sure who I was looking at. (Laughter.)
So we get in the limousine, and we're driving here from the
airport, and the Governor says, do you still follow college football?
(Laughter.) I wasn't exactly sure what he was driving at. I said,
yeah, I pay attention to it.
He said, were you paying attention to it a couple of weeks ago?
I said, yes, I sure was, Governor. Congratulations to the Hawgs.
(Applause.)
Thank you all for coming today. What we're doing today is we're
laying the foundation for what is going to be a victory in Arkansas in
'04, and a nationwide victory in '04. (Applause.)
I want to thank you for your hard work and for your strong
support. I want to thank you for what you did in 2000. I remember --
(applause) -- yes. I remember coming to the last stop we mad prior to
getting back to Texas after a long, long campaign. And we went to
north -- Northwest Arkansas. And the crowds were huge. I remember
flying over and seeing the line of red lights, all trying to get into
the event. It was really a -- put the wind at my back coming off of a
-- off of a tough campaign, the people of Arkansas did. I want thank
you for the support then. I want to thank you for the support that
you've shown today.
I want to thank you for what you're fixing to do, which is to man
the grass roots, and to get on the phones, and get the signs out, and
to turn out the vote. When you're out working the vote right now, you
tell them the President is focused on keeping America strong and secure
and prosperous and free. (Applause.)
The political season will come in its own time. I'm loosening up.
(Laughter.) And I'm getting ready. But I got a job to do, and I'll
keep working on the people's business, doing what's right for America.
I've got a job to do for everybody who lives in this country.
My regret today is that the First Lady isn't traveling with me.
You drew the short straw. (Laughter.) But I'm proud of Laura. She's
a great wife, a great mother, and is a fantastic First Lady for
America. (Applause.) She sends her very best to all her friends here
in Arkansas.
Speaking about our friends, I'm proud to call your governor, friend
and Janet Huckabee, friend. Mike is doing a great job for the people
of Arkansans. He's a strong leader. I appreciate his friendship, and
I appreciate his leadership.
I also want to thank your lieutenant governor, Win Rockefeller and
Lisenne for being here today. It's good to see you again, Governor. I
appreciate your friendship.
You got a fine congressman named Boozman representing you in
Washington, D.C. John, you're doing a great job. I'm proud to call
you ally and friend. I want thank all the state and local officials
who are here. I see former -- some former congressman. Jay Dickey and
John Paul, it's good to see you.
I appreciate the grass roots folks who are here, the people making
this party work. I want to thank Warren Stephens and French Hill, who
are the state finance co-chairman for taking on the task of seeing to
it that my campaign and the campaign of Vice President Cheney's is well
organized and well funded. I appreciate all the folks who have made
this event such a great success. Most of all, I thank you all for
coming.
In the last two-and-a-half years, our nation has acted decisively
to confront great challenges. I came to this office to solve problems,
instead of passing them on to future Presidents and future
generations. (Applause.) I came to seize opportunities, instead of
letting them slip away. My administration is meeting the tests of our
time. (Applause.)
Terrorists declared war on the United States of America. And war
is what they got. We've captured or killed many of the key leaders of
the al Qaeda network. And the rest of them know we're 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 today, they live in freedom. (Applause.) Two-and-a-half
years ago, your military was not receiving the resources it needed, and
morale was beginning to suffer. So we increased the defense budgets to
prepare for the threats of a new era. And 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.
And then our nation was attacked. And we had some scandals in
corporate America. And we went to war, to make America more secure.
All of which 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, I have twice led the United States
Congress to pass historic tax relief for the American people.
(Applause.)
I know that when Americans have more take-home pay to spend, to
save, or invest, the whole economy grows. And people are more likely
to find a job. So we're returning more money to the people, to help
them raise their families. We're reducing taxes on dividends and
capital gains to encourage investment. We're giving small businesses
incentives so they can hire new people. With all these actions, we
have laid the foundation for greater prosperity and more jobs across
America so every single person in this country can realize the great
American Dream. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half years ago, there was a lot of talk about education
reform, but there wasn't much action. So I acted. I called for, and
the Congress passed, the No Child Left Behind Act. With a solid
bipartisan majority, we delivered the most dramatic education reforms
in a generation.
I appreciate your governor leading on this issue. I appreciate the
fine reading initiative you got here in this state. You see, we
believe that every child in every public school can learn to read and
write and add and subtract. We are challenging the soft bigotry of low
expectations. (Applause.)
We've increased the federal budget to help Title I students, to
help make sure every child can read. But we expect results. The days
of excuse-making are over. We want results in every single classroom
so that one single child is left behind. (Applause.)
We reorganized our government and created the 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 Arkansas' farmers and ranchers and
entrepreneurs. We passed budget agreements that are helping to
maintain spending discipline in Washington, D.C. On issue after issue,
this administration has acted on principle, has kept its word, and has
made progress for the American people. (Applause.)
And the United States Congress has shared in these substantial
achievements. I want to thank John. I also want to thank Speaker
Hastert and Leader Frist. They're good friends. We're working hard to
change the tone in Washington, D.C. There's a lot of needless politics
in the Nation's Capital. We're focused on the people's business. You
sent us to Washington to work on behalf of the people, not special
interests, not lobbyists, but the people. And that's what we're
doing. (Applause.)
I've surrounded myself with people in my administration who are
focused on results. I have put together a fine team of public servants
to represent America. There is no finer Vice President in our nation's
history than Dick Cheney. (Applause.) Mother may have a second
opinion. (Laughter.)
In two-and-a-half years, we have come far, but our work is only
beginning. I've set great goals worthy of a great nation. First,
America is committed to expanding the realm of freedom and peace for
our own security, and for the benefit of the world. And second, in our
own country, we must work for a society of prosperity and compassion so
that every single citizen has a chance to work, and to succeed, and to
realize the promise of America. It should become clear -- it should be
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 are keeping it.
The war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle,
and neither are we. This country will not rest, we will not tire, we
will not stop until this danger to civilization is removed.
(Applause.)
We are confronting that danger in Iraq, where Saddam hold-outs and
foreign terrorists are desperately trying to throw Iraq into chaos by
attacking coalition forces and aid workers and innocent Iraqis. They
know that the advance of freedom in Iraq would be a major defeat for
the cause of terror. This collection of killers is trying to shake the
will of America and the civilized world. America will not be
intimidated. (Applause.)
We're aggressively striking the terrorists in Iraq, defeating them
there so we will not have to face them in our own country. We're
calling on other nations to help Iraq to become a free country, which
will make the world more secure. We're standing with the Iraqi people
as they assume more of their own defense and move toward
self-government.
These are not easy tasks, but they are essential tasks. We will
finish what we have begun, and we will win this essential victory in
the war on terror. (Applause.)
Our greatest security comes from the advance of human liberty,
because free nations do not support terror. Free nations to not attack
their neighbors. Free nations do not threaten the world with weapons
of mass terror. Americans believe that freedom is the deepest hope and
need of every human heart. And I believe that freedom is the right of
every person. And I believe that freedom is the future of every
nation. (Applause.)
America also understands that unprecedented influence brings
tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in this world. And when
we see disease and starvation and hopeless poverty, we will not turn
away. On the continent of Africa, America is now committed to bringing
the healing power of medicine to millions of men and women and children
now suffering with AIDS. (Applause.) This great, powerful nation is
a compassionate nation. And we are leading the world in this
incredibly important work of human rescue. (Applause.)
We face challenges here at home, and our actions will prove worthy
of the challenges. So long as any of our citizens who want to work
can't find a job, we must work to make sure the entrepreneurial spirit,
the environment for job growth is strong. The numbers look good. I'm
encouraged by what I see. But too many of our fellow citizens aren't
working.
I've laid out a six-point plan to the United States Congress to
make sure job creation remains strong and vibrant. I will stay focused
on our economy until the American people are able to put food on the
table and take care of their family responsibilities by finding a job.
(Applause.)
We have a duty to keep our commitment to America's seniors by
strengthening and modernizing Medicare. Congress has taken historic
action to improve the lives of older Americans. For the first time
since the creation of Medicare, the House and the Senate have passed
reforms to increase choices for seniors and provide coverage for
prescription drugs. (Applause.) It is time for the House and the
Senate to reconcile their differences, and to get a bill to my desk.
We owe it to our seniors to have a modern health care system available
for them. And we owe it to those of us who are going to be seniors to
make sure the Medicare system is modern. (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 doctor deserve their
day in court. Yet the system should not reward lawyers who are simply
fishing for a rich settlement. Because frivolous lawsuits --
(applause) -- because frivolous lawsuits drive up the cost of health
care, they affect the federal budget. Therefore, medical liability
reform is a national issue that requires a national solution. I
submitted a good bill to reform the medical liability system of our
country to the House -- to the Congress. The House of Representatives
has acted. It is stuck in the United States Senate. It is time for
some senators to understand that no one in this country has ever been
healed by a frivolous lawsuit. We need medical liability reform.
(Applause.)
I have a responsibility as the President to make sure the judicial
system runs well. And I have met that duty. I've nominated superb men
and women to the federal courts -- people who interpret the law, not
legislate from the bench. Yet some members of the United States Senate
-- you might even know some -- (laughter) -- are trying to keep my
nominees off the bench by filibusters, by blocking up-or-down votes.
Every judicial nominee deserves a fair hearing and an up-or-down vote
on the Senate floor. Is it time for members of the Senate to stop
playing politics with American justice. (Applause.)
Congress needs to complete work on a comprehensive energy plan. We
must promote energy efficiency and conservation. We must use
technologies to be able to use the resources at hand. But for the sake
of economic security, and for the sake of national security, this
nation must become less reliant on foreign sources of energy.
(Applause.)
A strong and prosperous nation must also be a compassionate
nation. I will continue to advance our agenda of compassionate
conservatism, which means we will apply the best, and most effective,
and most innovative ideas to the task of helping our fellow citizens in
need. Still, millions of men and women who want to end their
dependence on government and become independent through hard work, 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 more Americans can serve their communities and
their country.
And both houses should reach agreement on my faith-based initiative
to support the armies of compassion that are mentoring our children,
caring for the homeless, and offering hope to the addicted. Our
government should not fear faith. We should welcome faith and the
healing power of faith into the lives of more of our citizens.
(Applause.)
A compassionate society must 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 people owning their own home. Today, in
America, we have a minority homeownership gap. I've submitted plans to
the United States Congress to close that gap. We want more people
owning and managing their own retirement accounts, owning and managing
their own health care plans. And we want more people owning their own
small business. We understand that when a person owns something, he or
she has a vital stake in the future of America. (Applause.)
In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take
responsibility for the decisions they make. The culture of America is
changing from one that has said, if feels good, do it; if you got a
problem blame somebody else -- to a new culture in which each of us
understands we are responsible for the decisions we make.
If you're fortunate enough to be a mom or a dad, you're responsible
for loving your child with all your heart. If you're worried about the
quality of the education in Little Rock, Arkansas, or anywhere in
Arkansas, you're responsible for doing something about it. If you're a
CEO In corporate America, you're responsible for telling the truth to
your shareholders and your employees. (Applause.)
And in the new responsibility society, each of us is responsible
for loving a neighbor just like we like to be loved ourselves. The
culture of service, the culture of responsibility is growing here in
America. I started what's called the USA Freedom Corps to encourage
Americans to extend a compassionate hand to neighbors in need, and the
response has been great. People want to serve. People want to help
their communities. Policemen and firefighters and people who wear our
nation's uniform are reminding us what it means to sacrifice for
something greater than yourself. 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 up whole nations by spreading
freedom. At home, we seek to lift up lives by spreading opportunity to
every corner of America. This is the work that history has set before
us. We welcome it. And we know that for our country, the best days
lie ahead. May God bless you all. (Applause.)
Thank you all.
END 12:23 P.M. CST
|