For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 3, 2002
Remarks by the President in Minnesota Welcome
Xcel Energy Center
St. Paul, Minnesota
3:32 P.M. CST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Glad I came. (Applause.) Norm
said, if you come back, we might have a few of my friends over to say
hello. (Laughter and applause.)
I want you to know I understand that Minnesota is going through a
traumatic time. After all, just nine days ago, you lost a principled
senator, along with his wife and daughter and five other fellow
Americans. Paul Wellstone was respected by all who worked with him;
he'll be missed by all who knew him.
Now a vote is coming on, in the middle of a state that is
mourning. (Applause.) And even though your state is still in
mourning, I'm here to remind people from all political parties that you
have a duty to vote. In spite of the fact that people still mourn --
Republicans and Democrats, independents, people who could care less
about political parties, have an obligation in the land of the free to
go to the polls and exercise your right as an American. (Applause.)
Now, once you get in that voting booth, I've got a suggestion.
(Laughter and applause.) The best candidate for the future of
Minnesota is the next United States Senator, Norm Coleman. (Applause.)
The best choice for governor of Minnesota, the best choice for the
taxpayers and the school children is Tim Pawlenty. (Applause.) And
the best choice in a contested race in this part of the world, the best
choice for United States Congress, is Mr. John Kline. (Applause.)
It's great for -- great to be able to see Laurie Coleman today.
She is working hard along with Norm and their entire family. Proud to
meet Mr. and Mrs. Coleman, too. Ms. Coleman said she's a little
nervous. (Laughter.) I said, well, you watch and see what happens
next Tuesday. (Applause.)
Norm married above himself and so did I. (Laughter.) Yesterday,
Laura was here. I want to thank you for such a warm reception she
received. (Applause.) I don't blame Norman for bringing her in coming
down the stretch. After all, she's done a fabulous job as our country's
First Lady. (Applause.) I'm proud to be up here with three fine
members of the United States Congress: Gil Gutknecht, Mark Kennedy and
Jim Ramstad. (Applause.) I appreciate their service to our country.
I appreciate the fact that they're friends. I appreciate the fact
they're willing to run.
Most of all, I'm here to thank you all for what you have done, and
what you're going to do. (Applause.) Many of you have been working
hard over the last months, weeks and days to support the Coleman
candidacy. You've been putting up signs, you've been dialing the
phones, you've been sending the brochures in the mail. Don't stop.
(Applause.) I will promise you this, when you go to your coffee shops,
or your community centers and urge your fellow Minnesota citizens to go
to the polls, you can make a huge impact on this election. You can
decide who your next United States Senator and Governor and members of
Congress will be.
And when you go to those coffee shops and community centers, make
sure you reach out to discerning Democrats and independent voters.
(Applause.) There are a lot of good people who may not call themselves
Republicans, who've been impressed, like I have, with the nature of the
campaign that Norm Coleman has run. (Applause.) There's a lot of
people who may not be Republicans, who've been impressed by the quality
of service he gave to the citizens of St. Paul as the mayor of St.
Paul. (Applause.)
They know him like I know him: somebody who's willing to get rid
of the stale, old, tired name-calling politics. (Applause.) Somebody
who's not interested in pitting one group of people against another to
get ahead. Somebody who's willing to work hard to bring people
together for the common good. That's the Norm Coleman I know.
(Applause.)
When he held office he showed what he could do. He performed.
He's the kind of fellow who does in office what he says he's going to
do. That's refreshing. (Applause.) After all, we are in the house
that Norm built. (Cheering and applause.)
He kept taxes down. He brought more than $3 billion of new
development into St. Paul. He performed in office. He did so with
class. He did so with the one thing in mind: How to benefit all the
people of St. Paul. He understands that in order to create
opportunity for all the citizens of this state, that the small business
owner and the entrepreneurs, the backbone of creativity and job growth,
no matter where they are in this country -- (applause).
Pat Boemer owns McGovern's Pub and Restaurant just down the street
from here. He knows first hand how Norm worked with small business
owners to cut the regulations that oftentimes make it hard for people
to expand and/or exist. Norm understands the role of small
businesses. Because of Norm's help, Pat was able to expand his
restaurant, a project that employed 30 people during the expansion, and
added 35 new permanent jobs. Pat -- let me tell you what Pat said
about Norm Coleman. I want you to hear what one of your citizens said
about this man. He said he's a breath of fresh air. And that's the
kind of fresh air we need in the United States Senate. (Applause.)
Believe me when I say, we need fresh air in the United States
Senate. (Applause.) The future of Minnesota rests with Norm Coleman.
(Applause.) Not only do I like to promote somebody who is a good,
honorable person, I'm looking for an ally. (Laughter.) I want
somebody from this great state with whom I can work. (Applause.)
Somebody with whom we can work to help all the people.
We've got some problems here in this country. See, our economy is
kind of bumping along. It's not as strong as it should be. Any time
somebody is looking for a job and they can't find work means we've got
a problem. And I'm not going to rest until people can find work, until
people who want to put food on the table are able to do so.
But it's important to have somebody from this state who understands
the role of government is not to create wealth. But the role of
government is to create an environment in which small businesses can
grow to be big businesses, in which this entrepreneurial spirit is
strong. (Applause.)
There's a fundamental difference of attitudes in this race. See,
Norm and I understand this, that when a person has more money in their
pocket they're likely to demand an additional good or a service. And
when they demand a good or a service in the marketplace, somebody is
likely to produce the good or a service. And when somebody produces
the good or a service, somebody is more likely to be able to find
work.
I need the United States Senator from Minnesota who not only
supports tax relief, but is willing to stand with me to make tax relief
permanent. (Applause.)
Norm and I understand in Washington when you hear them talking
about the government's money, they don't understand. See, we're not
talking about the government's money in Washington. It's important to
have a senator understand whose money it is: it's your money, it's the
people's money. (Applause.)
I look forward to working with Norm on a lot of issues. We need to
get a terrorism insurance bill out that gets our hard-hats working
again. The terrorists hit us, and as a result, a lot of projects
aren't going forward because they can't find insurance. And,
therefore, a lot of hard-hats aren't working. We need to get somebody
in the Senate with whom I can work to make sure we get us a terrorism
insurance bill that rewards the hard-hats of America, not the trial
lawyers of America. (Applause.)
I look forward to working with a Norm Coleman to make sure that
Medicare works. See, we made a solemn promise to our seniors. The
problem is, medicine has changed, it's becoming modern. Medicare is
stuck in the past. There's a lot of new technologies that have helped
health care become modern, new discoveries that have changed the nature
of health care. But Medicare hasn't changed. I look forward to
working with Senator Norm Coleman to modernize Medicare, which means
prescription drugs for our seniors. (Applause.)
And let me give you another reason I need to work with him in the
Senate. One of my most solemn obligations is to name good people to
federal benches. (Applause.) The Senate has done a lousy job.
(Applause.) There are too many of my nominees that have been stalled
and therefore we have a vacancy crisis on the federal benched in
America. And that hurts you. It hurts our citizens who need to have
access to justice.
You see, they don't like my judges. They don't like the fact that
I named good, honorable people who will not use the bench from which to
legislate, but will use the bench to strictly interpret the
Constitution. (Applause.) Norm and I understand we've got too many
legislators in Washington. Let me say to you, we've got enough
legislators in Washington. We need good, sound judges.
I know I can count on his support when it comes to making sure the
judiciary is strong and capable and not have any vacancies.
(Applause.)
The biggest issue -- the biggest issue that Senator Coleman and I
will be working on over the years is to protect you, is to protect the
homeland, is to keep America safe from an enemy which still lurks out
there -- an enemy which hates because of what we love. We love
freedom. We love the idea that people can worship freely in America.
We love the idea that President can speak their minds. We love a free
press. And we're not going to change. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
THE PRESIDENT: It's important to be cold-eyed realists about the
world in which we live. We're on alert now in America. We understand
the battlefield has come home. There's a lot of good people working on
your behalf to deny the enemy. Any time we get a hint, a scintilla of
evidence, we're moving on it. That's our most important obligation.
We're doing it within the confines of the United States
Constitution, but we're moving. We're disrupting, we're making sure
people cannot get to the American people. We're doing everything we
can. But I went to Congress because I think we can do more. And I
asked them to join me in the creation of a Department of Homeland
Security. I want a department where I've got the ability to be able to
turn to the American President and say, I've got the tools necessary to
protect you.
There's over a hundred agencies involved with homeland security.
It seemed like to me they need to be coordinated better; they need to
be under one umbrella so we can set priority and, if need be, change
culture. And the House of Representatives, thanks to the members up
here, passed a good bill. (Applause.)
It takes two chambers to get the bill to my desk, however. The
bill is stuck in the Senate. I want to explain to you why it's stuck
in the Senate. It's stuck in the Senate -- it's stuck in the Senate
because some senators are trying to extract too high a price from the
President. For 40 years, ever since John Kennedy has been the
President, the President has had the ability to suspend collective
bargaining rules in any department of the federal government, when the
national security is at stake.
Let me tell you what that means. If a rule stands in the way of
being able to better protect the homeland, I should be able to suspend
that rule for national security purposes. The Senate -- the Senate,
because of special interests in Washington, D.C., refuses to -- or are
trying to strip me of that power. And if they were able to do so, I
would have the ability to suspend some rules in, say, the Agricultural
Department, but not the department of homeland security.
We're threat -- we're under threats from an enemy which hates us,
and yet they're trying to prevent me and future Presidents from being
able to do the job. I need a senator who will support me on homeland
security. I refuse to accept a lousy bill from the U.S. Senate.
(Applause.)
But the fact is -- the fact of the matter is, we're going to do
everything we can at home. But the best way to assure your freedom is
to hunt these killers down one person at a time and bring them to
justice. (Applause.)
We're making progress. First, I want to thank the Senate and the
House for passing the largest increase in defense spending since Ronald
Reagan was the President. (Applause.) I asked for that increase
because I believe strongly, just like Norm Coleman believes strongly,
that any time we put our troops into harm's way, they deserve the best
pay, the best training, and the best possible equipment. (Applause.)
And the other reason I asked for that increase is because I wanted
to send a signal to friend and foe alike, that when it comes to the
defense of our freedom and the defense of our homeland, we're in this
deal for the long haul. (Applause.)
There's not a calendar on my desk that says by such-and-such a
date, we're quitting. That's not how I think, that's not how I know
you think. You see, we understand our obligations to future
generations. That's why I'm continuing to insist to people around the
world: either you're with us, or you're with the enemy. (Applause.)
And we're making progress. We're making progress, slowly but
surely. We're finding them. We're hunting them down. It's a
different kind of war and it's important for you to know that. In the
old days, you'd knock out a couple of tanks or shoot down an airplane
or two, you're making progress. See, these folks, that's not the way
they are. They hide in caves or in dark corners of the world and send
youngsters to their suicidal deaths.
And so it's a different kind of war. It requires this network of
people moving around, getting them on the run. Fortunately, we've got
the finest military in the history of the world and we've got them on
the run and we're going to keep them on the run. (Applause.)
Norm knows what I know: it doesn't matter how long it takes, we
have an obligation. It's important for us to be cold-eyed realists
about the world. It's important to have a senator and a President and
people in Washington, D.C. who see the world really the way it is, not
the way we wish it would be.
And the world is changed after September the 11th. It's changed
because we're no longer safe from potential threats overseas. It used
to be that oceans could protect us. It used to be that we could sit
back and say, well, we're a protected continent because of two vast
oceans. We learned a tough lesson on September the 11th. We've got to
remember that lesson as we go down the road. We must take every threat
to the United States seriously. We must take threats to our friends
seriously.
And there's a threat which looms in the form of Saddam Hussein.
(Applause.) I want to remind you all that this is a man who for 11
years has said he wouldn't have any weapons of mass destruction. And
for 11 years, he's deceived the world.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Liar!
THE PRESIDENT: And we found out that -- a while ago that he was
close to having a nuclear weapon. We don't know how close he is
today. This is a man who not only has got chemical weapons, I want you
to remind your friends and neighbors, that he has used chemical
weapons. He has used them in his neighborhood and, incredibly enough,
he has used them on his own people.
This is a man who can't stand America. He can't stand what we
believe in. This is a man who hates some of our closest friends in the
Middle East.
This is a man who has had contacts with al Qaeda. This is a man
who poses a serious threat in many forms, but catch this form: He's
the kind of guy that would love nothing more than to train terrorists
and provide arms to terrorists so they could attack his worst enemy and
leave no fingerprints. This guy is a threat to the world.
I went to the United Nations because I wanted to tell this body,
this august body, that I expect you to do your duty. For 16
resolutions, he has defied you. I went and said, in the name of peace,
show yourself to be effective. We want you to be an effective United
Nations, not an ineffective organization like the League of Nations.
(Applause.)
My message was to that body, I said, show some backbone. Disarm
Saddam Hussein, just like he said he would do. But for the sake of
peace and for the sake of freedom, the sake of fulfilling our
obligations to future generations if the United Nations can't act and
won't act, and if Saddam Hussein won't do what he said he would do,
which is disarm, we will lead a coalition of nations to disarm Saddam
Hussein. (Applause.)
I appreciate Norm Coleman's position. I appreciate the fact that
he's a cold-eyed realist. I appreciate the fact that he sees the world
the way it is, not the way we would hope it would be. I want you to
know this about America, that if we stay tough, we stay strong, we can
achieve peace. We can achieve peace, not only for ourselves but we can
achieve peace in parts of the world which have quit on peace. We're
determined. We speak clearly. If we remember our values and remember
that freedom is not an America's gift to the world, it is a God gift to
the world -- (applause) -- we can achieve peace.
I don't know what was going through the mind of the enemy. They
must have thought the national religion of America was materialism,
therefore we're selfish and self-absorbed, we'd take a couple of steps
back after September the 11th, 2000 [sic]. They probably said, oh,
they'd file a lawsuit or two. (Laughter.) They don't understand the
nature of America. They don't understand the American spirit. They
don't understand American spirit, they don't understand our soul.
You see, out of the evil done to America is going to come some
good. And part of that good is peace overseas and part of that good
here at home is a better tomorrow, a better America.
We must remember -- and Norm understands this, that's why I'm
passionate on his candidacy -- he knows what I know, that amongst our
plenty are people who hurt, there are people who are lonely, people
addicted. People when you say American Dream, they say what does that
mean? I have no idea what the American Dream means, they say. Our
attitude is, so long as any of us hurt, we all hurt, and therefore
government must do everything it can to help. But government is
limited. See, it can hand out money, but it can't put hope in people's
hearts or a sense of purpose in people's lives.
That help -- that happens when a fellow American puts their arm
around somebody who's crying and says, I love you, brother, I love you,
sister, what can I do to make your life a better life? (Applause.)
I met a guy today named John Ernston. He's volunteered 13,000
hours for the Hennepin County sheriff. He's been on what they call
water patrol. He is a person trying to make a difference in somebody's
life. He's volunteering his time to make his community a better
place.
Talk about the American spirit, the American spirit says we'll be
tough when it comes to the defense of our freedom. But the American
spirit also says the new patriotism for our country means we'll serve
something greater than ourself. The call to you so far as I'm
concerned is, help somebody in need, mentor a child, feed the hungry,
love the homeless. (Applause.) And you watch what happens when the
great compassion of America comes forth.
We can change this country one heart, one soul, one conscience at a
time. No, the American spirit is alive and well in this country. The
enemy hit us; they didn't know who they were hitting.
I'm reminded of the story of Flight 93. Flight 93 was -- on that
fateful day, we had citizens flying across the country. They learned
the plane they were on was going to be used as a weapon. They said
goodbye to their loved ones. History will show they said a prayer. A
guy said, let's roll. They took the plane into the ground to serve
something greater than themselves. The spirit of this country is alive
and well and strong. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
THE PRESIDENT: I believe -- I believe firmly that, out of the evil
done to America is going to come some great good. I will boldly
predict that we can achieve the peace and we can achieve a more hopeful
tomorrow for every citizen who lives in this country. Because I
understand America. We're the finest, full of the greatest people on
the face of this entire Earth.
I'm honored you're here. Work hard for Norm. May God bless you,
and may God bless America. (Applause.)
END 4:00 P.M. CST
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