For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 1, 2003
Remarks by the President at London, Kentucky Welcome
London-Corbin Airport
London, Kentucky
5:00 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Thank you for being
here. I'm honored to be here. Thanks for so many people showing up
today. It's a beautiful day to talk about the next governor of the
state of Kentucky. (Applause.)
My only regret is I wasn't here a month ago for the fried chicken
festival. (Laughter.) I appreciate so many folks showing up. It's a
good sign, Ernie. It's a good sign people care about their
government. (Applause.) It's a good sign that people know they have
got a responsibility to vote. I'm here to say as clearly I can: the
right person to become the next Governor of the state of Kentucky is
Ernie Fletcher. (Applause.)
I want to thank you all for bringing your families. I also want to
thank the Bush Volunteer Fire Department for coming. (Applause.)
That's a heck of a name you chose. (Laughter.) I'm proud to share it
with you, and thanks for what you do.
I can say without any uncertainty at all that Ernie is the right
man to be the governor. Listen to this, he's a fighter pilot.
(Applause.) That says something. And he's a healer, he's a doctor.
(Applause.) He's an engineer. (Applause.) He did a fine job in the
United States Congress. (Applause.) He's had good experience. He
married well -- (laughter) -- just like me. (Applause.) I appreciate
Glenna, I appreciate the sacrifices she's making for the people of this
great state.
The people of this state must be assured that when they elect
somebody to high office, that person will uphold the dignity of that
office. (Applause.) You want your kids looking at somebody who -- for
whom you can be proud. Ernie Fletcher values his faith, he values his
family, he understands the responsibilities that you must assume when
you get elected to high office. The right man for the job is Ernie
Fletcher. (Applause.)
It's one thing to be listening to the speeches, it's another thing
to be doing the work. I'm asking you to go out and turn out the vote.
I'm asking you to go to your coffee shops, your farm implement dealers,
your community centers, your houses of worship and remind people they
have a duty to vote. In this free land you have a duty to exercise
your responsibility. And you might also remind them when they're
heading to the polls, he's the right man for the job. (Applause.)
And don't overlook those disgruntled Democrats, either.
(Laughter.) They want good, clean government in Frankfort. There's
plenty of independents you can encourage to go vote. This is voter
turnout time now. The good people of this part of the state understand
what I'm talking about. You go find your neighbors and get them to the
polls and you'll be proud of the job he does on behalf of everybody in
this state. (Applause.)
Make sure that you also get them to vote for the lieutenant
governor. (Laughter.) It's kind of natural, isn't it? I'm proud of
the fact that Ernie picked Steve Pence, he's a good, solid man. See, I
picked him first. I don't know if you know this or not, but I named
him to be the U.S. Attorney for Western Kentucky. I looked long and
hard to get the right person to do this important job. Steve Pence was
the man. He's not only the man to the be the U.S. Attorney, he's the
man to become your lieutenant governor. (Applause.)
Laura sends her love to the people of Eastern Kentucky.
(Applause.) She's a fabulous First Lady, I'm really proud of her.
(Applause.) You drew the short straw -- you got me. (Laughter.)
I'm so proud to be on the same platform with two great United
States senators. First, Senator Mitch McConnell. (Applause.) He
represents Kentucky really well. He also married well. (Laughter.)
He married so well, I put Elaine, his wife, into the Cabinet.
(Laughter.) I'm proud of the job she's doing for the working people of
this country. (Applause.) I'm also proud to be here with Jim and Mary
Bunning, two great citizens of this state. It is really important you
send him back to the United States Senate in '04. (Applause.)
The truth of the matter is, I'm here because a great friend of my
family's said, listen, if you want to help Ernie, you make sure you
come to London. (Applause.) He said, if you really want to do some
good for this good man, you make sure you come to the heart of my
district. I think you know who I'm talking about. (Applause.) Yes.
A great American, a great friend, a wonderful congressman from this
part of the world, one of the real powers in the halls of Congress, a
man who thinks constantly about the people in this district, and that
would be Hal Rogers. (Applause.)
It's been a real pleasure to get to know Cynthia, as well. I like
a man who married a younger woman. (Laughter and applause.)
I'm also proud to be here with the former governor, Governor Louie
Nunn. I appreciate Governor Nunn being here today, as well. Thank
you, Louie. (Applause.) Adam Koenig is with us, he's running for the
state treasurer and he wants your vote. (Applause.) You talk about a
man who picked a good name running for the Commissioner of Agriculture
-- (laughter) -- Richie Farmer is throwing his hat in the ring, and he
wants your help. (Applause.)
I'm proud to be here with my friend, David Williams, the president
of the State Senate. (Applause.) Ellen Williams runs the party here
and Mike Duncan is the national committeeman and all of you all
involved in the grass-roots -- that means fixing to turn out the vote,
that's what that means to me -- thanks for coming. It's been a real
joy to be here.
I also want to thank Rebecca Lynn Howard for singing so beautifully
for you all. (Applause.)
What's important for a governor candidate is to have a good agenda,
a good platform; you've got to run for a reason. And Ernie is running
for the right reason. First of all, he and I share a concern: anytime
any of our citizens who wants to work and can't find a job, it says
we've got a problem. And you better get you a governor here in
Kentucky who understands what it means to create the environment so
jobs can grow. (Applause.)
You know, when I came into office the country was in a recession.
And then the enemy hit us. And then we found out some of our citizens
forgot what it means to be responsible, they didn't tell the truth to
their shareholders and their employees. By the way, some of them are
finding out what it means to be held accountable. (Applause.)
So I went to the Congress and said, we've got to be concerned about
the fact that people aren't working. But I went with this principle --
and Ernie understands this, that's why I'm bringing it up, it's
important you have a governor who understands how to create that
environment for job growth and job creation -- when a person has more
money in his or her pocket, he or she is likely to demand a good or a
service. And when you demand a good or a service, somebody is going to
produce that good or a service. And when somebody produces that good
or a service, somebody is more likely to find a job. The tax relief
that Ernie supported strongly came at the right time for the American
economy and the American people. When you have more money in your
pockets, somebody is more likely to find a job. (Applause.)
In order to make sure that you've got an economy that's strong here
in Kentucky, you better make sure you've got a governor who is wise
with the people's money. And that starts with understanding this
principle: in government, we don't spend the government's money,
that's your money, we spend the people's money. (Applause.) And Ernie
is not going to play politics with your money. He's going to set
priorities. He's going to be wise about how to spend the taxpayer's
money.
In order to make sure you've got an economy that grows, you better
have a legal system that is fair and balanced. Junk lawsuits make it
hard to have a state that creates jobs. (Applause.) You need a
governor who's willing to stand up to the plaintiff's bar, somebody who
will stand strong and say, if you need your day in court, you'll have a
day in court. But frivolous and junk lawsuits make it hard for people
to find work.
And frivolous and junk lawsuits make it hard for people to get
good, affordable health care. You need medical liability reform in
this state. (Applause.)
I used to say in Texas that education is to a state what national
defense is to the federal government. The top priority of any state is
to make sure every child gets a good education. And that's Ernie
Fletcher's top priority. (Applause.) Ernie is going to stand with the
teachers. (Applause.) Ernie is going to stand with the parents.
(Applause.) Most importantly, Ernie is going to stand with the
children. He'll challenge what I call the soft bigotry of low
expectations. He believes every child can learn. (Applause.) He'll
raise the standards and insist that our children learn to read and
write and add and subtract. You need a governor who will make sure no
child is left behind in the state of Kentucky. (Applause.)
He's right on a lot of the issues. He's running on a good, solid
platform. This is a platform, by the way, that's good for Republicans
and Democrats and independents. This is a Kentucky platform.
One of the things I like most about his platform is his
understanding of the role of faith in our society. (Applause.) The
state should never fund the church and the church should never try to
be the state. But in order to heal broken hearts, in order to address
some of the deepest needs of our fellow citizens -- whether they be the
homeless or the addict or the child who needs special love -- we must
welcome faith in our society. We must rally the armies of compassion.
(Applause.)
I look forward to working with Ernie to make sure the federal
efforts and the state efforts and the local efforts here in Kentucky
are well coordinated when it comes to protecting the homeland. I look
forward to working with him to make sure that our first responders, the
brave police and firefighters and emergency management teams get
resources necessary to do the job you expect them to do.
But I also want you to know, and he understands this, that the best
way to protect the homeland is to chase the killers down, one at a
time, and bring them to justice. (Applause.) We must never forget the
lessons of September the 11th, 2001. (Applause.) We must understand
we have a duty and responsibility to provide security for the people of
this country. Therapy is not going to work with that bunch. (Laughter
and applause.) We must be smart, we must be tough. We will not tire,
we will not rest until this danger to civilization is removed.
(Applause.)
When I came into office, morale in the U.S. military was beginning
to suffer, so we increased the defense budget. Ernie Fletcher stood
right by my side, making sure our troops, our brave troops, got the
best training, the best pay and the best possible equipment.
(Applause.)
But I want you to know, the best way to safeguard America is to
work to spread freedom. (Applause.) Is to make sure that freedom can
take hold around the world. See, free societies don't attack their
neighbors. Free societies do not develop weapons of mass terror to
blackmail or threaten the world. We understand this -- it's very
important -- that freedom is not America's gift to the world, freedom
is the Lord Almighty's gift to each person in the world. (Applause.)
I'm proud that Ernie stood strong on these tough issues. I'm proud
I could count on him. And you can count on him when he's your
governor. (Applause.) He's a good, honest man. He's a decent man.
He's an honorable man. And I'm here to ask you to turn out the vote
here, in this important part of the state, and send this man to the
State House, who will do you a great job.
Thanks for coming. May God bless, and may God bless America.
(Applause.)
END 5:14 P.M. EST
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