For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 6, 2002
Remarks by the President at Friends of Governor Pataki Reception
The Sheraton
New York, New York
6:40 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Gosh,
thanks for the warm welcome. It's great to be back in New
York City. It's the home of such courage and strength and
resolve. It's shown the world and the country what it means
to be a community that refuses -- refuses -- to back down in the face
of evil and terror. I'm proud to be the President of a
country where we've got such a fabulous city called New York
City. (Applause.)
I want to thank the Party Chairman for his hard work. I
want to thank the Lt. Governor for being here. She certainly
brightens up the stage. (Laughter and applause.) She's
smarter than all of us, too. (Laughter.)
I want to thank the Mayor. I appreciate the Mayor taking
on the awesome responsibility of being the Mayor of this huge
city. He could have easily have just continued to run his
successful business and said, what the heck, I'm not interested in
serving. But he made a personal sacrifice for the good of
the people. And the city is going through tough times, but
you made the right decision to have a man who knows how to lead to be
your Mayor. (Applause.)
And I look forward to working with the Mayor. George is
right, we're going to work hard to make sure that New York City gets
the help she needs. And it's comforting to me to be able to tell the
spenders up in Congress that when we send the money here, it's going to
be well managed by Mayor Bloomberg. (Applause.)
And I want to thank you all for coming to support my good, close
friend, George Pataki. He has done a --
(applause.) If for no other reason you ought to send him
back, it's because, like me, he married well. (Laughter and
applause.) But he's got a fabulous record. He has
been a breath of fresh air here in New York State. He's done
in office what he said he would do. He's a plain speaker,
and just goes out and does it.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Like you! (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: He's one of these candidates who can
actually run on his record and be proud of
it. (Laughter.) Some of them run away from their
record. He's running on it. He's running on a
great record.
But there's another reason to send him back. As you
know, we're in tough times here in America. As I said in my
State of the Union, we're at war, we're in recession, but we've never
been stronger. (Applause.) And one of the reasons
we're strong is that this important state has got a leader who, in the
face of -- in the face of danger, in the face of an emergency, shoots
strong and steady and was reliable.
In tough times, what this state needs is somebody who you can count
on, somebody who won't panic, somebody who won't play politics with the
situation, somebody who knows how to lead. And that somebody
is Governor George Pataki. (Applause.)
He's got a good record. He's proven that he knows how to
lead. And it also makes sense for New York State to have a
governor whose phone calls will be returned from the White
House. (Applause.)
We do have some tough times ahead of us. But you've got
to know, I've never been more optimistic about the future than I am
right now. I'm optimistic because I know what we need to
do. And what we need to do is to make a clear statement and
a stand for freedom -- never relenting, never tiring, and pursuing a
grand and noble objective, and that objective is to rid the world of
terror. (Applause.)
The enemy, in attacking New York City, made a terrible
mistake. They must not understand what America's character
is like. I like to say they must have been watching too much
daytime TV. (Laughter.) They -- they
miscalculated. They thought we were soft. They
thought we were so materialistic and selfish that we couldn't think
beyond ourselves, that we couldn't think in terms of a grand idea, that
we wouldn't cherish freedom to the point where we would fight for
it. And that miscalculation has been most notable with the
Taliban government in Afghanistan.
I unleashed the mighty United States military on a clear
objective. (Applause.) I said that not only would we find
the killers and bring them to justice -- but if you harbor a terrorist,
if you feed a terrorist, if you hide a terrorist, you're just as guilty
as a terrorist. (Applause.)
There's been some proud moments for this
country. Nothing more proud for me than to see our military
liberate a people -- liberate women and children from the clutches of
one of the most barbaric regimes in the history of
mankind. Not only are we fighting for justice, we're
liberators. We free people so they can realize their
potential. This great country is not only tough and
resolved, but we stand on principle. And freedom is our
principle. We love freedom at the core. And we
will not relent, we won't relent in our quest to not only make the
world more free, but to make the world more
peaceful. (Applause.)
I want you to know I'm a patient man. I don't feel any
great anxiety toward achieving objectives on the moment. And
therefore, those who think they can hide can't hide long
enough. Those who think they can run can't run far
enough. We are deliberate; we are patient; but make no
mistake about it, we will deliver justice. (Applause.)
The country is united, and for that I am really
grateful. I appreciate the support of members of both
political parties in Washington, D.C. for this most important cause,
this most important campaign. History has called us into
action, and we'll respond. It's our chance to leave a better
world.
And so I want to tell you that the first theater on the war against
terror is going well. But there will be other
theaters. So long as the enemy wants to harm us, so long as
people believe they can get away with terror, this nation will lead our
vast coalition with firm resolve, dedicated to a peaceful world.
The other day I spoke very clearly about some choices countries get
to make. I talked about an axis of evil, because I firmly
believe that nations need to be put on notice that this nation will not
allow our citizens to become threatened not only by terrorist acts, but
by nations which develop weapons of mass destruction which could
easily, or eventually be used against us. We will not be
intimidated. I will not allow nations to hold us hostage, or
our friends and allies hostage. Terror is our mission --
(applause.)
And so, my fellow citizens, I appreciate our nation's resolve and
understanding and adherence to some important principle. I
also want you to know that every morning I walk in to the Oval Office
and sit at this magnificent desk that had been used by the Roosevelts
and by President Reagan -- by the way, today is his 91st birthday --
(applause) -- and other leaders, and sit down there at the desk and
read a threat assessment. It's a summary of the intent of
the enemy. And you've got to know that there are still
ambitions against us. But I also want to assure you, our
great land is doing everything we possibly can to protect our American
citizens.
We're on alert. The law enforcement agency at the
federal level, the FBI, is now focused on prevention. We're
running down every lead, we're seeking every opportunity to disrupt
potential cells in America. We're working
overtime. I'm proud of the way our law enforcement officials
have responded. You need to know that we are doing -- my
most important job and the most important job of your government is to
protect the American people, and we will do so with all our vigor and
all our might. (Applause.)
As I said in my State of the Union, I stand in awe of the American
people and in awe of the citizens of New York City. This
great city refused, absolutely refused, to be
intimidated. (Applause.) This city, it stood in
defiance of evil. And America watched and America was
impressed, and so was your President. I've been impressed --
(applause.)
I'm asked all the time by people, what can I do to help. You see,
as you probably can tell, I don't see many shades of gray in this
world. Either you're with us or you're against
us. Either you support evil or you support
good. This great nation stands on the side of good. And for
those who want to help, you can do so by acts of
kindness. You can do so by showing compassion for your
neighbor.
And it doesn't require much. Walking across the street
to a shut-in to say, "I care for you, I hope you're okay," is an act of
kindness that will stand in the face of evil. Mentoring a
child who can't read is an act of kindness which stands in the face of
evil. Saying to a child whose parent is in prison, "America
belongs to you just as much as it belongs to me," is an act of kindness
in the face of evil. The gathering momentum of a million
acts of kindness and compassion is how America can stand strong in the
face of evil. And, make no mistake about it, that is how
America is responding. (Applause.)
I believe out of this great evil will come great good. I
believe the world will be more peaceful when we accomplish our
mission. And I know our country is beginning to make
different kinds of choices. The old culture said, if it
feels good, just go ahead and do it. Now we've learned a new
ethic, and it had to do with Flight 93. When people on that
airplane said a prayer, told their lives they loved them, and drove the
plane in the ground to save others' lives, we're beginning to get a
sense of sacrifice.
We saw it here in New York City, where firefighters and policemen
rushed into buildings to save others. This nation is in the
process, I believe, of ushering in a period where we said each of us
are responsible for the decisions we make in life. We're
responsible for loving a neighbor like we'd like to be loved
ourselves. We're responsible for loving our
children. We're responsible for the communities in which we
live.
No, they hit us and they're going to pay a terrible
price. But as a result, our nation will be stronger and more
compassionate and more decent. It will hold more promise for people
who are lucky enough to call themselves Americans.
I love being the President of a nation whose strength is not its
government; whose strength is the American people. I'm proud
to be here. May God bless you all, and may God bless
America. (Applause.)
END 6:55 P.M. EST
|