For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 23, 2002
Remarks by the President During Simon for Governor Luncheon
A.G. Spanos Jet Center
Stockton, California
12:05 P.M. PDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much for coming. I'm glad to be
back in California. It's an honor to be back in Stockton, California,
I might add. (Applause.) It's wonderful to be in a part of the world
where we grow a lot of things and help feed not only our own people,
but feed the world.
I'm also here to -- I was up in Oregon yesterday to talk about
sensible policy, to make sure that we don't allow our forests to burn.
(Applause.) I flew over the Biscuit Fire there in Oregon, it's a huge
fire, and was briefed by the experts about, you know, how that fire got
started -- it was a lightening strike. But because of poor forest
management, we allowed kindling to build up and we allowed it turn into
just a giant pile of ready to burn material.
I saw those firefighters that are spending hours trying to protect
people and wildlife and habitat. And heard one after another say, Mr.
President, bring some common sense, bring some common sense to our
forest policy; let's thin the forest so that they don't serve as giant
piles of kindling to burn and ruin the legacy of good forests. That's
what I was here to talk about, some common sense policy. (Applause.)
And that's what you need in Sacramento, California -- some common
sense thinking, somebody who can lead this state. (Applause.) And
that's why I'm honored to be back to work on behalf of the next
governor of the state of California, Governor Bill Simon. (Applause.)
And Laura did report, Bill, that she had a great trip. You drew
the long straw with her and you got the short straw with me.
(Laughter.) But she sends her very best to you and Cindy. She was
impressed by your speech, and your -- the caliber of the campaign
you're running. People are beginning to take notice here in California
that something different's happening, a little different attitude when
it comes to politics and the Governor's office. She picked up on
that. And so she sends her very best.
I talked to her this morning. She's in Crawford, Texas. She is --
(applause) -- there you go; one person from Crawford. (Laughter.)
You've got 1/600th of the city here. (Laughter.)
But yesterday, she had the high honor of having an elementary
school named after her in Leander, Texas. I share that same honor of
having one named after me right here in Stockton, California.
(Applause.)
But I do want to herald the next First Lady of California, a fine
lady, a great mom, smart person, and that's Cindy Simon. Good to see
you, Cindy. (Applause.)
Alex Spanos told me the funniest thing. He said, this is an
airplane hangar. It doesn't look like one to me. (Laughter.) Alex, I
want to thank you for your hospitality. What a fine American Alex
Spanos is. (Applause.) I kind of needled him in front of, I guess,
maybe 3,000 or 4,000 people at the Civic Center down there. I said I
love being around an optimist. He told me with a straight face that
the San Diego Chargers were going to win the Super Bowl this year.
(Laughter.) Of course, that's what he told me last year. (Laughter.)
But I love Alex, my family loves Alex, I know you love Alex. He's
a wonderful contributor to the fabric of our society. And we
appreciate you, Alex, and Faye, and your fantastic family. And thank
you for your hospitality. (Applause.)
I surround myself with good people. I pride myself on the fact
that my administration has got some good, honorable, decent, hard
working, smart people. (Applause.) And I've got some of them with me
today. First, I've got a National Security Advisor right here from the
state of California who is really doing a good job, and that's
Condoleezza Rice. (Applause.)
And, secondly, when I picked somebody to be the Secretary of
Agriculture, I wanted somebody who knew something about agriculture.
And it made sense to find somebody from this part of the world, so I
picked a lady from Compton, California -- Ann Veneman is doing a
fantastic job for America. (Applause.)
I told her the other day that I wanted to make sure that
agriculture wasn't treated as a step-child when it came to
international trade. You see, when you're good at something, that
ought to be the cornerstone of public policy. And we're really good
about growing crops and raising cows and raising chickens and hogs.
We're good at that in America. We're so good at it, we don't have to
worry about bringing it in from another country. We're self-sufficient
in food, and that's important from a national security perspective.
But it's also important, if that's the case, to use our leverage to
help our producers by opening up markets for U.S. products. And today,
Ann announced the fact that the Russians -- our friends the Russians --
have finally honored the agreement that not only contract for our
chickens, but to honor the contract for American chickens. She's doing
a fantastic job on behalf of the American farmer. (Applause.)
We've got two fine United States congressmen here with us today.
One, the congressman from this area, Richard Pombo. Richard, thank you
for coming. (Applause.) I know Richard's wife and son is here, as
well. And, of course, there's Doug Ose from right up north of here,
Doug and his family is here as well. Thanks for coming, Doug.
(Applause.)
I want to thank State Senator Dick Monteith for coming today. He's
going to be the next congressman from the adjoining district. Thank
you for coming, Dick. (Applause.)
My friend, big Jim Brulte is here. He's a state senator from down
south. He's got a lot of judgment and wisdom and he's trying to keep
the fiscal house in order until a new sheriff arrives in town, in
Sacramento, California. And I appreciate Big Jim being here, too.
Thanks for coming, Brulte. (Applause.)
And, finally, I want to thank your mayor, Gary Podesto, for his
hospitality, his kind introduction down at the Civic Center, and for
the great job he's doing for the people of Stockton, California. Thank
you, Mr. Mayor. (Applause.)
I want to thank you all for helping the next governor. I want to
thank you for your talent and your time. I want to thank you for what
you're going to do. You see, in order for this good man to win, he not
only needs your financial support, he needs you to start helping turn
out that vote, to start talking to your neighbors about why you need a
change in Sacramento and why he's the man to bring that change.
In Texas -- at least in the Crawford area -- we call that "coffee
shop talk." You've probably got a few of them around here. Makes
sense when you get into that coffee shop to extol the virtues; when you
find a good candidate, you've got to support that candidate. It's
important for this great state that you do, because you've got some
problems and you need somebody to solve the problems.
It starts with having the right kind of attitude. The attitude is,
I want to work with people to make things better for everybody. You
don't ask the question, you know, I'm going to work for people to make
sure that this so-and-so has got the right party registration. That's
not the right attitude for government. The attitude in the 21st
century, the one that makes sense to me, is how can I work together
with people from all walks of life to make things better?
You need somebody in Sacramento who's got that kind of attitude,
somebody who's willing to put aside all the typical old-style politics
to bring a breath of fresh air, bring new life into a stagnant
situation. And the answer for the breath of fresh air for Sacramento,
California, is Bill Simon. (Applause.)
I also appreciate a man who doesn't have to take a poll to figure
out what to believe. (Applause.) I like Bill's ideas, I like the fact
that he set education as his number one priority. And that ought to be
the priority of any governor. The most important thing a state needs
to do is to make sure that every child -- not just a few or some --
every child gets a good education.
And it starts with having high expectations. It starts with the
belief that every child can learn. See, if you believe only certain
children can learn, those that you kind of exclude won't learn. That's
just the way it is. If you have low standards, you're going to get low
results.
Bill understands every child can learn. He also knows what I
know: that it's important to have flexibility in the public school
system. You can't -- one size doesn't fit all. You've got to trust
local folks to chart the path to excellence. The bill I signed says
that we're going to set high standards, but we're going to trust local
people, we're going to let people design a path to excellence that
works.
But also, what's important in education -- if you believe every
child can learn, then you need to ask the question: is it working? Is
every child learning? And see, that's why I am such a strong supporter
of accountability. And Bill joins me: we need to know. We need to
know if every child is learning. See, if you believe they can, then
you're willing to measure. If you don't believe that every child can
learn, then you don't measure.
If you believe every child can learn, then you use an
accountability system to say, thanks to the teachers where children are
learning, and to say to schools that aren't teaching, You need to
change, because every child counts in the state of California.
(Applause.)
That's the kind of policy that's needed here in California. We
need a policy that says every child can learn; when we find children
who aren't, we're going to correct problems early before they're too
late to regain confidence in the school system. That's what you need
to do in this great state, and this good man can do that.
We're getting ready to write a new welfare law in Washington that
says work is the cornerstone of freedom, that we're going to help
people work. We need to have a governor in this state who understands
the dignity that comes with work. But who also understands, like I
know, there are people -- there are pockets of despair and hopelessness
in this state, just like there are around the country. There just
are.
And one way to help address each person is to unleash the great
faith-based programs which exist all around the country. The federal
government and the state government must not fear programs who change
lives, but must welcome those faith-based programs for the embetterment
of mankind.
Bill understands that. You see, government can hand out money, but
it cannot put hope in people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's
lives. That's done when loving Americans love their neighbor just like
they'd like to be loved themselves. It's a breath of fresh air you
need in Sacramento, California. (Applause.)
You also need somebody who can make the budget work. (Laughter.)
That's what you need. You need somebody who's willing to make tough
decisions and set priorities with the people's money. It starts with
understanding when a government spends money, it's not the government's
money. It's your money. And you better have somebody who understands
that, that concept. And somebody who watches the budget carefully.
Bill Simon is a proven businessman who can get that done. And
that's what the state of California needs and that's why I'm so proud
to be here to embrace his candidacy and urge the good people of
California to work on behalf -- for the state's interests, that this
man get elected.
I want to thank you all for your support of his candidacy. And
before I leave, I want to tell you we've got some tasks at hand at the
federal level, too, that we're going to meet. There's no bigger task
than protecting the homeland of our country. That's my most important
job. I spend a lot of time thinking about it. Not only do I spend
time thinking about it, I act on it.
You need to know that your government is doing everything we can to
run down every hint, every piece of evidence, every whisper about
somebody that might be doing something to America. And we're chasing
down every lead. A lot of good folks are working really hard on your
behalf. And I'm proud of them -- proud of them at the federal level,
I'm proud of them at the state level and I'm proud of them at the local
level.
You probably have heard that I have asked for there to be a
reorganization of the federal government in order to make the homeland
more secure. I didn't run, and I readily concede this, on the
platform: vote for me, I want to make the federal government bigger.
(Laughter.) I ran on: let's make it work better. If it's got a
responsibility, let's see to it that it works better. And so the idea
of the Department of Homeland Security is not to create new
bureaucracy, but to make those bureaucracies and those agencies which
have got some responsibility in homeland security work better.
There are over a hundred agencies in Washington that have something
to do with protecting you. And it seemed like to me they ought to be
under one umbrella, so there's accountability in the system. The
problem is, is that I worry about a Senate bill -- I don't worry about
it, because I'm not going to accept it -- a Senate bill which wants to
micromanage, that wants to decide every kind of rule there is, that is
more worried about protecting their own turf than protecting the
American people.
But we're going to get a good department. I want you to know we're
doing everything we can to secure the homeland.
But the best way to do so is to hunt the killers down one person at
a time, and bring them to justice, which is what we're going to do.
(Applause.)
And we're making some progress, and we have to make progress.
After all, they are still out there, and they still hate. They hate
what we stand for. I want you to tell your sons and daughters that we
seek justice, not revenge, and we do so because we love freedom.
This country values every person. Every life is important. We
value the ability to worship freely, and we hold those values dear.
And when somebody wants to take them away, we're going to respond. And
we'll respond in a forceful way. And force -- we'll use every asset at
our disposal to protect the people of this country, but also to protect
the values that we hold dear. It is our responsibility.
History has called us into action. And so long as I'm the
President, this country is not going to blink. We will be steadfast
and strong in our desire to make the world more free. (Applause.)
And we're making some pretty good progress. We've got this
coalition of freedom-loving countries, and people who understand the
threats to civilization that terrorism poses, that are helping to share
intelligence and to cut off money and haul them in, as I say, rather
means arrest, incarcerate them. We've got over a couple of thousand of
them -- these are the big shots, the leaders. We're pulling them in.
And slowly but surely, we're decimating their army.
But this is a different kind of war. See, that's what makes it not
very appealing to all the air time that they've got out there, because
you can't see tanks and aircrafts and ships and convoys and all -- the
way that wars used to be fought. Remember, we're out there chasing
down these people that hide in caves. They find the darkest cave
possible; in the meantime, they're sending some youngster to their
suicidal death.
They've hijacked a great religion. That's what they've done. It's
a different kind of enemy. But we're figuring them out. And there's
no cave deep enough.
We've got a fantastic United States military. We've got a great
coalition. We've got a people that understand the task at hand. And
so we're making progress.
But there are some other hills we've got to climb in order to make
the world more peaceful. There just are. As our fellow citizens,
you've just got to understand that there's going to be more combat,
more missions. We'll do everything we can to continue to enforce the
doctrine that if you harbor one of these people, you're just as guilty
as they are. You'll see that doctrine enforced. You'll see the
doctrine that says either you're with us or you're with them enforced.
You'll understand clearly, as time goes on, why I feel strongly
that we cannot allow the world's worst leaders to develop the world's
worst weapons, to hold America or our friends and allies hostage. We
just can't do that.
History has called us into action. History has shined the
spotlight on this great land. And we will show the world that we love
human values, universal values. And we will show the world that we
love freedom. That's the task at hand.
And by being strong, and patient, and deliberate, we're going to
make the world more peaceful. That's the objective. The objective is
for our children to grow up in peace. The objective is to achieve
peace in parts of the world where the people have given up on peace.
See, I think it's possible to achieve peace in the Middle East. I
think it's possible to achieve peace in South Asia. I believe that out
of the evil done to America can come some great good, if we remain
strong and focused and diligent, and tough when we need to.
And I believe here at home we can achieve a more compassionate
country, too. You see, out of the evil done to America has come a new
culture, one that says serving something greater than yourself in life
is part of being -- part of being a patriotic American.
People say, you know, how can I help? What can I do? You know
what you can do? You can love your neighbor just like you'd like to be
loved yourself. You can understand what I know: that one person can't
do everything to make America a more hospitable place, a more decent
place, a more loving place. But one person can do something. And
America can change one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time.
And all of us have a responsibility to help make that change. And
it doesn't take much. Mentoring a child on a regular basis will change
lives. Helping people who need -- who are shut in, will change lives.
Feeding the hungry will change lives. Helping find shelter for those
who lack shelter will change lives.
See, America is changing, one person at a time. The evil people,
they thought they were hitting a weak country. They thought they were
hitting people that were so self-absorbed, so materialistic, that all
we might do was file a lawsuit or two. (Laughter.)
But they realized this country is a country of courage and
character and compassion and decency. After all, we are the finest
country on the face of the earth.
May God bless you all, and may God bless America. (Applause.)
END 12:28 P.M. PDT
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