For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 8, 2003
Remarks by the President at Bush-Cheney 2004 Reception
Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel
Nashville, Tennessee
6:00 P.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Thanks for coming. Lamar
puts it a little less delicately -- without Tennessee there would be no
Texas. (Laughter and applause.) Without Tennessee there would be no
President George W. Bush. (Applause.)
I want to thank you all for coming tonight. I really appreciate
your support and your friendship and your prayers. Tonight is the
beginning of what is going to be a successful campaign here. We're
laying the groundwork not only for a victory here in Tennessee, but
we're laying the groundwork for what is going to be a victory in
November of 2004. (Applause.)
I appreciate your contributions, but I will remind you there are
other contributions to make. Going to need you to put your signs in
the yard, need you to put out the mailers. When you go to the coffee
shop, make sure you talk it up. (Laughter.) And remind them that this
administration has a vision which is positive and hopeful and
optimistic for every single American. (Applause.)
The political season will come in its own time. I'm loosening up.
(Laughter.) And I'm getting ready. But I've got a job to do and right
now I'm focused on the people's business. We will continue to work
hard to earn the confidence of every American by keeping this nation
secure and strong and prosperous and free. (Applause.)
I have only one regret tonight and that is that the First Lady
didn't come with me. I am one lucky man that Laura Bush said yes --
went there on bended knee, I said, would you marry me. She is a
fabulous First Lady, a great wife -- (applause.)
I'm proud to have been introduced by a fabulous United States
Senator, Senator Bill Frist. (Applause.) He is doing a great job, not
only for Tennessee, but for our nation. He's a steady hand, he's a
good man to deal with. He's got our country's interest at heart. And
I'm proud, like you are, to call him friend.
I'm also proud to call Lamar Alexander friend. He, too, is doing a
fabulous job in the United States Senate. (Applause.) We've got two
members from the House of Representatives with us tonight -- one of the
event's vice-chairmen, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn. I'm honored
that Marsha is with us. I want to thank you for coming, Marsha.
(Applause.) And Congressman Zach Wamp is with us, as well, (Applause.)
I appreciate all those who put this event together. My great
friend from Cincinnati, Ohio, who is our national finance chairman,
Mercer Reynolds. I want to thank Mercer for being here. (Applause.)
I want to thank Jim Haslam, our state finance chair, for his hard
work. (Applause.) I want to thank all who put this event together.
I particularly want to thank Beth Harwell, the state party
chairman. (Applause.) I want to thank Gracie Rosenberger for
performing the anthem. (Applause.) You know, when you come to
Nashville, you hope to see some of your favorite entertainers.
Fortunately, some of them showed up tonight, starting with Michael W.
Smith, my good friend. (Applause.) And Debbie. I'm also so pleased
that Ricky Scaggs came tonight. He's a -- that boy can sing.
(Applause.) Steve Warner is with us tonight. Brad Paisley flew in
from California to be with us tonight. (Applause.) I want to thank
them all for coming.
There's less road-rage at NASCAR now because Darrel Waltrip is
retired, but I'm still glad to call him -- (applause) -- I'm glad he's
here. But most of all, I really want to thank you all for being here,
it means an awful lot.
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. This 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 have captured or killed many key leaders of al
Qaeda, 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 -- fifty-million people in those two countries once lived under
tyranny, and now they live in freedom. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half years ago, our military was not receiving the
resources it needed, and morale was beginning to suffer. So we
increased the defense budget to prepare for the threats of a new era.
And today, no one in the world can question the strength, the skill,
and the spirit of the United States military. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half years ago, we inherited an economy in recession.
And then our country was attacked, and we began a march to war. And
there were some corporate scandals, all of which affected the
confidence of the American people. 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.) Here is what
I know: When Americans have more take-home pay to spend, to save, or
invest, the whole economy will grow, and people are more likely to find
a job. (Applause.)
We also understand whose money we spend in Washington. We don't
spend the government's money, we spend the people's money. We are
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 to expand and to
hire new people. With all these actions, this administration is laying
the foundation for greater prosperity and more jobs across America so
every one of our citizens can realize the great promise of our
country. (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. We're bringing high standards and strong
accountability measures to every public school in America. You see, we
believe that every child can learn the basics of reading and math, and
we expect every school in America to teach the basics of reading and
math. (Applause.)
In return for federal money, we now expect results. I went to
Kirkpatrick Elementary School today, and they're achieving results.
They're using the accountability system to focus efforts on children
who need help. I saw private tutoring lessons being -- taking place
because of the No Child Left Behind Act. The days of excuse-making are
over. We expect every child to learn. We want to make sure in this
country that not one single child is left behind. (Applause.)
The last two-and-a-half years, we reorganized the government and
created the Department of Homeland Security to better guard our borders
and our ports and to better protect the American people. We passed
trade promotion authority. It opened up new markets for Tennessee's
farmers and ranchers and entrepreneurs and manufacturers. We passed
budget agreements to bring much needed spending discipline to
Washington, D.C. On issue after issue, this administration has acted
on principle, we have kept our word, and we have made good progress on
behalf of the American people. (Applause.)
And the United States Congress shares in these great achievements.
I appreciate working with Bill Frist and Speaker Denny Hastert. We've
got a great relationship. We will continue to work to change the tone
of Washington, D.C., to elevate the discourse, to focus on the people's
business by focusing on results.
And those are the kind of people I have attracted to my
administration. I have put together a fantastic team to serve the
American people -- good, honorable, decent Americans from all walks of
life, who are in Washington, D.C. for one reason, to serve the country
they love. Our nation has had no finer Vice President than Vice
President Dick Cheney. (Applause.) Mother may have a different
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, to succeed and
realize the American Dream.
It is 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.
Our war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle, and
neither is America. This country will not rest, we will not tire, we
will not stop until this danger to civilization is removed.
(Applause.)
Yet our national interest involves more than eliminating aggressive
threats to our security. Our greatest security comes from the advance
of human liberty. Because free nations do not support terror; free
nations do not attack their neighbors; free nations do not threaten the
world with weapons of mass destruction. Americans believe that freedom
is the deepest need and hope of every human heart. And I believe that
freedom is the right of every person, and that freedom is the future of
every nation. (Applause.)
This country also understands that unprecedented influence brings
tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in the 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. This great land, this compassionate nation is
leading the world in this incredibly important work of human rescue.
(Applause.)
We also face challenges at home, and our actions will prove worthy
of those challenges. So long as anybody is looking for a job and can't
find work, I will continue to try and foster an environment that
encourages the entrepreneurial spirit, that encourages job creation in
the private sector so people can find work. (Applause.)
We have a duty to keep our commitment to America's seniors by
strengthening and modernizing Medicare. Congress took historic action,
both the House and the Senate took historic action to improve the lives
of older Americans. For the first time since the creation of Medicare,
the House and Senate has passed reforms to increase choices for seniors
and to provide coverage for prescription drugs. It is now time for
both bodies to iron out their differences, to keep our commitment to
America's seniors today and seniors-to-be tomorrow and modernize the
Medicare system. (Applause.)
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 fishing for
rich settlements. (Applause.) Because frivolous lawsuits drive up the
cost of health care, they affect the federal budget. Therefore,
medical liability reform is a national issue which requires a national
solution.
I have proposed medical liability reform. It has passed the House;
it is stuck in the Senate. Senator Frist is working hard to get that
bill off the floor. Nobody has been healed by a frivolous lawsuit in
America. (Applause.)
I have a responsibility as President to make sure the judicial
system runs well, and I have met that duty. I have nominated superb
men and women for the federal courts, people who will interpret the
law, not legislate from the bench. (Applause.) Some members of the
Senate are trying to keep my nominees off the bench by blocking up or
down votes. Every judicial nominee deserves a fair hearing and an up
or down vote on the floor of the Senate. It is time for some members
of the United States Senate to stop playing politics with American
justice. (Applause.)
The Congress needs to complete work on a comprehensive energy
plan. We need to modernize our electricity grid. We need to encourage
more investment and to make sure reliability standards are mandatory,
not voluntary. We need to explore for new sources of energy in
environmentally friendly ways. We need to use technology to come up
with alternative sources of energy. We need to encourage
conservation. What we really need to do, for the sake of national
security and economic security, is to become less dependent on foreign
sources of energy. (Applause.)
Our strong and prosperous nation must also be a compassionate
nation. I will continue to advance our agenda of compassionate
conservatism. We will apply the best and most innovative ideas to the
task of helping our fellow citizens who hurt.
There are still millions of men and women who want to end their
dependence on government and become independent through hard work. We
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 citizen service act so that more Americans can serve their
communities and their country. And both Houses should reach agreement
on my faith-based initiative to encourage the armies of compassion, to
love those who hurt, to mentor our children, to care for the homeless,
to offer hope to the addicted. This great nation should not fear the
works of faith. We should welcome faith into the community of help.
(Applause.)
A compassionate society must promote opportunity for all, including
the independence that come from ownership. This administration will
constantly strive to promote an ownership society all throughout
America. We want more people owning their home. I have put forth
policies to decrease the minority homeowner -- home ownership gap in
America.
We want people owning and managing their own health care accounts.
We want people owning and controlling their own retirement accounts.
We want more people owning their own small business, because when a
person owns something in America, he or she has a vital stake in the
future of this country. (Applause.)
In a compassionate society people respect one another and take
responsibility for the decisions they make. We're changing the culture
of this country from one that has said, if it feels good, do it, and if
you've got a problem, blame somebody else -- to a culture in which each
of us understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in
life.
If you are fortunate enough to be a mother or father, you're
responsible for loving your child with all your heart and all your
soul. (Applause.) If you're concerned about the quality of education
in your community, you're responsible for doing something about it.
(Applause.) 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 our neighbor just like we'd like to be loved
ourselves. (Applause.)
We can see the culture of service and responsibility growing around
us. I started the USA Freedom Corps to encourage Americans to extend a
compassionate hand to a neighbor in need, and the response has been
fantastic. Faith-based programs and charitable programs are strong and
vibrant all across America. Policemen and firefighters and people who
wear the 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.
(Applause.)
In these challenging times, the world has seen the resolve and the
courage of America. And I have 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 our 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 and for our cause, the best days lie
ahead.
May God bless you all. (Applause.) Thank you very much.
(Applause.)
END 6:25 P.M. CDT
|