For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 9, 2002
President's Remarks at Gov Bush Fundraiser
Remarks by the President at Jeb Bush 2002 Fundraiser
Capitol Hilton
Washington, D.C.
6:19 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. First,
it's good to be at the old family
reunion. (Laughter.) I want to thank Marv and
Doro for hosting this reception for our brother. My big
little brother. (Laughter.) I want to thank the
Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Republican Party for being
here. I want to thank the Chairman of the Florida
Party. I want to thank Al Cardenas, and I want to thank you
all for coming.
These are serious times that face our nation. And these
serious times require serious leaders. And you're here to
support a really good, serious man. (Applause.)
I was reminded about how serious these times are today when we lost
a KC-135 refueler in Afghanistan. Our hearts and prayers go
out to the families of the soldiers. But I want to remind
them that the cause that we are now engaged in is just and
noble. The cause is freedom. And this nation --
(applause.) And this nation will not rest until we've
achieved our objectives. (Applause.)
I have explained to the American people that we must be patient --
and I'm proud to report the Americans are patient; that we're entering
into a dangerous phase in our war against terror; that we've achieved a
lot of objectives, thanks to a fabulous military; that we have routed
out the government that was the host to the parasitical al
Qaeda. And in so doing, this great nation liberated women
and children from one of the most repressive, evil regimes history has
ever known. (Applause.)
My favorite scenes of this conflict have been the joy on the faces
of Afghan women, as our soldiers and our allies have swept into these
villages where women were so incredibly impressed. It's just
hard for our country to imagine the brutality and the backwardness of
the Taliban. They are no longer in power, thanks to the
great United States of America. (Applause.)
Those who struck America think they can run and
hide. It's interesting -- I find it amazing that the al
Qaeda leaders are more than willing to convince some of their brethren
to commit suicide; yet, they, themselves hide in
caves. (Laughter.) And that's why this phase of
the war is dangerous -- because we're going to hunt them
down. They think they can hide, but this patient nation will
do whatever it takes to bring them to justice. And when we
do, the world will be better for it. (Applause.)
We have got a job to do here at home, and I appreciate working with
Governor Bush on protecting our homeland. We've got a job to
make sure that we take every threat seriously. And make no
mistake about it, the enemy still wants to harm America. But
what they don't realize is that this nation is alert and we're
ready. And anytime we find any hint of anybody who will try
to harm the innocents of our country, we will give them the chance to
share information with us. (Laughter.) We will
bring them to justice, as well.
But the best homeland defense, of course, is to be successful
overseas. We're in the first theater. But
wherever terror exists, this great nation will hunt it
down. It's the calling of our time. (Applause.)
I appreciate so very much the spirit of unity here in Washington,
D.C. on this war. (Laughter.) But we showed
what's possible in Washington, what can happen in Washington, in the
last couple of days. I had the honor of traveling our
country with George Miller of California, John Boehner of Ohio, Judd
Gregg of New Hampshire, and Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.
I signed an education bill that is a really good piece of
legislation. It's a good piece of legislation because it enables and
empowers governors like Jeb Bush of Florida to continue to strive for
excellence for every child. And it's a good piece of
legislation because it shows what's possible in Washington,
D.C. Political parties are important, but they're not nearly
as important as doing the nation's business. And making sure
every child is educated is a heck of a lot more important than the
political parties that make up our political
system. (Applause.)
I've worked hard to change the tone in Washington, to focus on big
matters, and to bring people together to achieve those
matters. I hope that one of the legacies of my
administration will be that results matter more than rhetoric; and that
as we achieve results, it's important to share credit with people.
I jested with Ted Kennedy when I told him that the folks at the
coffee shop in Crawford, Texas will be amazed when they see me standing
up there saying nice things about
him. (Laughter.) But I mean them. I
meant them, because this bill never would have happened had he not made
up his mind to help it happen.
And that's exactly the spirit that Jeb has taken to the
governorship of Florida. You see, he, too, is a proud
Republican, like me, but he also understands the children of Florida
are more important than political parties. And he said he
stole ideas from me -- he didn't steal ideas from me. He had
the idea of every child being educated ingrained deeply in his heart.
He is -- today I signed an Everglades agreement with the state of
Florida. It's legislation that passed prior to my
time. My job then was to certify that the Floridians were
honoring their obligation to make sure there was enough water to the
Everglades park.
That was easy to sign because I know that deeply ingrained in Jeb's
heart is a desire to protect the natural beauty of the state of
Florida. He can also -- he's a deeply compassionate man, but he's
plenty tough -- just ask the crooks of Florida. (Laughter
and applause.)
I want to thank you all for making his campaign more
viable. But what's going to make it really viable is that he
is a man who has done in office what he said he would do. He
speaks straight with the Florida voters; he tells them what he
believes. He's not one of these kind of fellows that walks
around with his finger in the sea breeze trying to figure out which way
the political winds blow. He says what's on his mind -- not
based upon polls or focus groups, but based upon
conviction. And there's no doubt in my mind that he is not
only one of the great governors of Florida's history, he's one of the
great governors of our nation. And he deserves a second
term. (Applause.)
We not only share a last name, but we share the fact that we both
married above ourselves. (Laughter.) It's great
to be here with Columba, as
well. (Applause.) Both Jeb and Columba understand
there's a calling when you hold a high office that there's an awesome
responsibility that comes with that office. And that's, first and
foremost, to bring honor and dignity to the office. And that's exactly
what this couple has done.
They may not agree with Jeb in Florida on every issue, but when
they look at that office, when they look at the office of Governor of
Florida, they know they've got a man there who will tell them the
truth, a man who's there for the right reason, and a man who brings
honor to the great state of Florida.
Thank you all for coming. May God bless.
END 6:30
P.M. EST
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