For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 11, 2002
President Speaks at Talent Dinner
Remarks by the President at Talent for Senate Dinner
Mariott Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
6:30 P.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Well, thanks for that most generous welcome. It's an honor to be her,
back to the great state of Missouri. I'm here tonight for one reason,
I urge the good folks of Missouri to send this good man to the United
States Senate. (Applause.)
I want to thank all of you all for making this evening, I'm told,
an historic evening. It's incredibly successful. I want to thank the
good folks at the head table, who worked hard to send a clear message
to others in the state of Missouri that Jim Talent's got great support
all across the state. I particularly want to thank those who man the
phones and stuff the envelopes, the grass-roots workers that make an
incredible difference on every election day.
I understand this is the height of barbecue season. (Laughter.) I
know a little something about barbecue. (Laughter.) We kind of think
Texas barbecue is pretty good. (Laughter.) But we had a barbecue
recently on the lawn there at the White House -- it was a magnificent
event. We were able to invite Republicans and Democrats from the
United States Congress. But one person was missing. So the next time
I give a barbecue, we might just decide to have barbecue from this part
of the world, as we eat barbecue with the next United States senator,
Jim Talent. (Applause.)
I want to thank Brenda Talent for joining her husband in this great
journey to serve the people of Missouri. I know what it's like to
marry somebody above myself. (Laughter.) I regret that Laura is not
here today. She is out in the western part of our country. She was in
Idaho and then Utah, going to go out to California later on today. And
then she and I are going to team up or meet back up in Crawford, Texas,
for the weekend. I've got to get some culture here one of these days,
so I'm going back to Crawford. (Laughter.)
But, you know, when I asked Laura to marry me, she was a public
school librarian, and the truth of the matter is she didn't
particularly care for politics or politicians. (Laughter.) But the
people of this country are beginning to understand why I asked her to
marry me. She's a class act. (Applause.) A lot of people are still
scratching their heads wondering why she said, yes. (Laughter.) But
we're doing great. A lot of you out there have prayed for my family.
I want to thank you for the precious gift of the prayers of the people,
and we feel strong and confident. (Applause.)
I traveled here today with some fine folks in my administration --
Governor Tom Ridge, who is Director of the Homeland Security.
(Applause.) The former governor of the state of New Jersey, who's now
the Administrator of the EPA, Christie Todd Whitman is with us.
(Applause.)
Christie made a really good suggestion for our family, right before
the end of the campaign, in 2000. She suggested that I buy Laura a
birthday present. It's a pretty good suggestion, actually.
(Laughter.) I had forgotten. (Laughter.) And it turned out that the
gift was Barney, the Scottish Terrier. Little Barney is a fabulous
little guy. He's the son I never had. (Laughter.) And that he's only
one and a half, he really doesn't spend much time in the Oval Office.
After all, we've got a new rug in there. (Laughter.) But it's the
chance for me publicly to thank Governor Whitman for her fine
suggestion, and a great addition to our family.
Our family is also complete when we talk about Spot the dog. Spot
was born at the White House when Mother and Dad were there. And Spot
gets to come in the Oval Office on a regular basis.
It is such an honor to walk into the Oval Office, dog or no dog.
(Laughter.) And I want to thank you all for giving me the chance to
serve this great country. I particularly want to thank Ann Wagner for
her good work for the Republican Party in Missouri, as well as the
National Committee. (Applause.)
I want to thank you all for raising a man who is doing a fantastic
job for the country, and that is the Attorney General of the United
States, John Ashcroft. (Applause.) I appreciate so very much your
senior Senator, Kit Bond, who is traveling with me today. I want to
thank you, Senator, for your leadership. (Applause.) Sam Graves and
Kenny Hulshof of the state of Missouri's with us, as well, and I thank
you all for being here. (Applause.) If you see them leaving after my
speech, it's because they want a free ride. (Laughter.) It's not a
bad way to travel, I might add. (Laughter.)
We've also got a Congressman from the great state of California
with us. He's the chairman of the Rules Committee, a close friend.
He's doing a fine job for America -- David Dreier. Thank you for
coming, David. (Applause.)
And then, of course, there's the Governor of Kansas. I'm surprised
you all let him across the state line. (Laughter.) But he's a good
friend. He's done a fabulous job. He's brought a lot of dignity to
the Governor's Office in the state of Kansas. And that's Bill Graves.
(Applause.)
And finally, I'm proud of your secretary of state of Missouri, Matt
Blunt. Matt was a Naval Reserve officer who just returned from
Operation Enduring Freedom. And I want to thank you for your service,
Matt. (Applause.)
Jim Talent's an easy man to support. I like his values. I like
the fact that he makes his family a priority. I like the fact that he
loves his country more than himself. I like the fact that he's an
experienced man. He served in the United States Congress, and when he
served in the Congress, he served with distinction. You all may
remember he was on the House Armed Services Committee. He believed
that we needed a strong military prior to September the 11th.
(Applause.)
I also appreciate the fact that he understands the significant role
small business plays in our society. It's really important that our
small business sector be vibrant and strong; that there be less
regulations on the small business person; there be less taxation on the
small business person; and that we think aggressively about how to make
sure small businesses can take care of their own, can help their
employees. That's why his support of the association health plans
makes so much sense. It's so logical. We need a logical mind, a
can-do fellow in the United States Senate representing that junior
seat.
I want to thank Jim, as well, for understanding the role of
government is not to create wealth. The role of government is to
create an environment in which the entrepreneur and small business
owner can flourish. (Applause.) And that is why it was vitally
important that we cut the taxes on the working people in America.
(Applause.)
Occasionally you hear the voices up there in Washington, saying,
oh, the tax cut didn't mean anything. The tax cut meant a lot. When
you let people keep more of their own money, it increases demand. And
when you increase demand for goods and services, somebody is going to
provide the goods and services. And when somebody provides the goods
and services, it means somebody can find work. This tax cut came at
the right time for America, and we need to make it permanent.
(Applause.) And Jim Talent will be a vote I can count on when it comes
to cutting the taxes on the American people. (Applause.)
He understands that if you're good at something, you ought to
promote it. We're good at agriculture in America. We're good at
high-tech in America. And we ought to be selling our products not only
at home, but overseas. I need trade promotion authority, and I need a
vote in the United States Congress that will give me trade promotion
authority, for the good of American workers. (Applause.)
One of the debates we're going to have in Washington, right now,
and it may spill over when he's a senator, is welfare reform. The 1996
law that Jim was integrally a part of has made a significant difference
in the lives of millions of Americans. It has freed people from
dependency upon government. It has encouraged people to find dignity
in their lives through work. And whatever we do, for the good of the
American people, we must not -- we must not -- water down any welfare
reform reauthorization. We must insist upon work and family for the
good of the American people. (Applause.)
The next logical step for welfare reform is to unleash the great
compassion of America, is to encourage faith-based and community
programs to be an integral part of helping people help themselves. Jim
Talent understands that government should not discriminate against
programs based in religious institutions. We ought to welcome those
programs, for the good of people whose lives we're trying to save, and
whose lives need additional hope. (Applause.)
So I look forward to having him in the United States Congress, and
I look forward to working with him, to help us do our most important
job, which is to secure our homeland, which is to do everything we can
(applause) which is to do everything we can to protect the American
people.
I was telling you I took Spot there in the Oval Office. I sit at
the desk, by the way, where the Roosevelts sat. Since I'm a President,
I can Ted and Franklin. (Laughter.) Kennedy sat. Reagan sat. I go
in this magnificent office, which is really a shrine to the great
democratic traditions of our country, and I read an assessment from our
intelligence services about the plans of the enemy. And it reminds me
every day of two things -- one, that we face nothing but a bunch of
cold-blooded killers, is the best way I can describe them, and that all
of us must work together to protect the innocent people of America.
And that's why last week I proposed a reorganization of agencies
all throughout our government into one Cabinet, called the Department
of Homeland Security. My intention, of course, is not to create more
government. As a matter of fact, I ran I said, give me a chance, I
won't create more government. My intention is to make government
work.
There are over 100 different agencies involved with protecting our
homeland, agencies scattered throughout the federal bureaucracy --
which means it's kind of hard to determine who's responsible, who is
accountable for the protection of the American people. And so, for the
good of our country, I've called upon Congress to reorganize government
in a way that allows us all to more effectively deal with the true
threats that face America.
This agency will be charged with enforcing our border. Listen, we
need to know who's coming into the country. We need to how long they
intend to stay. We need to know whether or not they've left like they
said they're going to do.
We need to make sure that we can respond to any bioterrorist
attack, we need to be wise about what can happen and if it does happen
what to do about it. We need to reorganize so that we've got the
capacity to deal effectively with local governments, particularly our
first responders, the brave police and fire and EMS crews that serve
the public with such distinction.
And we need to make sure that any intelligence gathered is analyzed
properly, so that we can anticipate threats, so we get a better feel
for what may be happening in America, and then devise a plan to deal
with it.
People say, well, gosh, that sounds pretty simple to get done. The
problem is, we're dealing with some in Congress who guard what they
call, turf. They don't like the thought of losing jurisdiction over
one of the 100 groups. They don't like the idea of perhaps the
appropriations process being taken away from them. But for the good of
the country, the United States Congress needs to put political
partisanship aside. They need to put turf battles aside, and do what's
right to secure the homeland. (Applause.)
Let me share a couple of examples about what I'm talking about.
The Coast Guard is an incredibly important part of our -- of securing
our border. The Coast Guard is -- and they do a great job, by the
way. And they've got a lot of tasks. But there's nothing more
important than border security. And yet the Coast Guard reports to the
Transportation Department. The Transportation Department's primary
function is railroads and airplanes and highways, not the security of
the United States. The Customs Department needs to be an integral part
of enforcing our border, and yet the Customs Department reports to the
Secretary of Treasury. His job isn't homeland security; his job is
fiscal policy in the United States.
For the good of the American people, we need to align the
responsibilities, align authority and responsibility so that I can hold
somebody to account, because I can assure you the American people are
going to hold me to account. (Applause.)
I know you hear about all these threats. But you need to know
we're doing everything we can possibly do to prevent the enemy from
hitting us. Prior to September the 11th, the FBI, for example, was
focused on law enforcement. And that's good. We want them to be
focused on law enforcement. But the culture is changed. We've made --
a lady came before it the other day, and brought some pretty good
evidence, evidence that we needed to look at to make sure that if
there's any gaps, we deal with them.
And now Director Mueller, who was on the job one week prior to
September the 11th, by the way, comes to my office every morning,
reporting in to me about what the FBI is doing to prevent attack. The
culture is shifting in Washington, D.C., and that's incredibly positive
for the American people. We've got a lot of work to do, we've got a
lot of work to do, but we're making good progress. (Applause.)
But you need to know how I think. The best way to secure the
homeland of our country is to hunt the killers down, one by one, and
bring them to justice. And that's precisely what the United States is
going to do. (Applause.)
I submitted a budget that prioritizes our national defense. It's
the largest increase in defense spending since Ronald Reagan was the
President of the United States. I did so for two reasons. One, any
time we put our young into harm's way, they deserve the best training,
the best equipment, the best pay possible. (Applause.) And two, it's
a signal to the American people, our allies, and as importantly, to the
enemy, that the United States of America is in this war for the long
pull. There is not a calendar on my desk that says by such and such a
moment, you're going to quit. That's not what somebody does when it
comes to defending that which we hold dear. And this country loves
freedom. (Applause.)
I can't imagine what was going through the minds of the enemy when
they attacked us. They must have said, well, you know, these people in
America are soft; they're so materialistic and so self-absorbed and so
basically weak that all the great country might do is file a couple of
lawsuits. (Laughter.) They were wrong. If anybody attacks our
freedom, if anybody thinks the United States of America will blink in
the face of terrorist activity, they have significantly, significantly
underestimated the will of the American people. (Applause.)
This is a war unlike any we've ever had. There's not great columns
of equipment moving across a country. There's not vast industrial
complexes manufacturing weapons to be used in these armies. We fight a
shadowy group of killers who like to hide in caves and send youngsters
to their suicide. They think they can hide from our country and our
coalition. But because we're patient and steadfast and brave and
determined, there is no cave deep enough for people who want to harm
America and take away our freedoms.
The enemy has suffered a significant defeat in the first battle in
the first war of the 21st century, and that was in Afghanistan. It is
important for you all to tell the young ones in America when you have a
chance that this great country of ours does not seek revenge. America
seeks justice. (Applause.) And I ask you to point out to the young
ones that when we went into Afghanistan, we arrived not as conquerors,
but as liberators. As a result of the United States and our friends
and allies, young girls go to school for the first time in
Afghanistan. By freeing the Afghan people from the clutches of the
most barbaric regime in modern history, we have liberated people for
the good of the people of Afghanistan. (Applause.)
Sometimes the American people will see progress on their TV screens
and sometimes you won't. In my speech the other night, I informed the
American people that we've we and our friends have arrested and
detained over 2,400 terrorists. As you read in the newspaper, we now
need to make that 2,401. (Applause.)
We are upholding the doctrine that says either you are with us or
you are with the terrorists. (Applause.) Either you love freedom or
you stand against the United States of America. No matter where these
killers light, the United States and our friends and allies will bring
them to justice, no matter how long it takes. Because history has
called us into action. History has given us the opportunity to defend
freedom, and that's precisely what we're going to do.
And freedom is not only at risk as a result of one terrorist
network; freedom's at risk because of terrorist networks around the
world. And freedom is at risk with the thought that al Qaeda or an al
Qaeda-type organization could mate up or team up with one of these
nations which develops weapons of mass destruction.
That's a nightmare scenario to think about. Think about the fact
that people hate our freedoms, hate the fact that we are tolerant of
religion, hate the fact that we speak our minds freely. And they
develop a capacity to deliver a horrible weapon via ballistic missiles
that could change the dynamic of the ability for us to keep peace. It
could cause people to blanch, to blink in the face of such a threat.
I'm a patient man. I'll use all the tools at our disposal. But we
will not let the world's worst leaders hold America and our friends and
allies hostage with the world's worst weapons. (Applause.)
Ann mentioned I'm an optimistic fellow, and I am. I believe that
out of the evil done to America will come some incredible good. You
also need to tell people that we fight for peace. That's what we fight
for. I long for a peaceful world. And I believe that if America
continues to lead with steadfast purpose and strong resolve, that we
not only can achieve peace for the American people, but we can achieve
peace in places around the world that have seemingly no hope for
peace. It's important for us to keep peace in mind.
And at home, I believe that we're a better country as a result of
the evil done to us, because I believe Americans have heard the call
that if you want to join the fight against evil, do some good; love
your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself. I'm asked all
the time, what can I do to help? My answer is, mentor a child. If you
want to fight evil, tell somebody you love them. Show somebody your
compassion. Join your church or synagogue and mosque's programs to
feed the hungry.
It is important in this nation for us to recognize there are
pockets of despair and hopelessness. And I believe that through
compassion and love, we can save those people, and show them America is
meant is meant for them. I recognize one person can't do everything,
but I want you to know, one person can do something. One person can be
a part of saving America, one soul, one conscience, one heart at a
time. The American people are responding, because our people are
deeply kind and compassionate people. People all across the country
are taking responsibility for their lives.
I believe out of the evil done to America, there's a good chance
we'll change our culture from one which has said, "if it feels good,
just go ahead and do it, and if you've got a problem, blame somebody
else," to a new culture which says, each of us are responsible for the
decisions we make in life. If you're a mom and a dad, you're
responsible for loving your child with all your heart, and with all
your soul. If you're a responsible citizen of Kansas City, you have
the responsibility to help somebody in need. If you run a company in
corporate America, you have a responsibility to disclose all of your
assets and all of your liabilities. You have a responsibility to your
employees, and you have a responsibility to your shareholders.
(Applause.)
And the reason I believe this is happening, because I believe
Americans realize serving something greater than yourself in life helps
complete life. Serving something greater than your own self-interests
is part of what a full life is all about. And it's happening across
America, it is.
I think perhaps the most significant moment after 9/11, or during
9/11, was Flight 93. We had people on an airplane, flying across our
country. They thought they were on a business trip, or traveling --
thought it was a normal day. They were told on their cell phones that
the enemy was using airplanes as a weapon. They realized that the
hijacked plane they were on was going to be used to kill. And they
decided to serve something greater than themselves. In this case, they
served their country. They said a prayer, they told their loved ones
they loved them, and they drove a plane into the ground. It is a sign
to me that the great courage and heart of America is alive and strong.
And all of us must use that example of serving something greater
than themselves as we join this war against evil. And by so doing, out
of the evil will come incredible good for America. People will realize
the greatness of our country. People will realize there's hope where
there is no hope, light where there seems to be darkness. And it's
going to happen in this country, no doubt in my mind. Because this is
the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. And it is a huge honor
to be the President of the greatest nation on the face of the Earth.
Thank you for coming. May God bless you all. (Applause.)
END 6:57 P.M. CDT
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