For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 28, 2002
Remarks by the President at New Mexico Welcome
Riner Steinhoff Soccer Complex
Alamogordo, New Mexico
9:00 A.M. MST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Thank you all for coming
today. It's a beautiful day here. Of course, every day is a beautiful
day in New Mexico. (Applause.) I love to come to a part of the
country where the cowboy hat is -- (applause) -- the cowboy hat,
instead of the tie, is a part of the work uniform. It kind of reminds
me of home. (Applause.) Right around the corner from here.
They tell me I'm the first President ever to come to Alamogordo.
For that, I'm honored. (Applause.) I'm honored, and I'm honored so
many of my fellow Americans have come out to say hello, to listen to
what's on my mind. First of all, what's on my mind is that in order to
be a good American, in my judgment, you've got to exercise your right.
You've got to go to the polls. In order to do your job as an American,
you can't take democracy for granted. You owe it to our society to go
vote.
Of course, I've got a few suggestions for you when you go to the
polls. (Applause.) It doesn't matter to me whether you're a
Republican, Democrat, or independent -- you have an obligation. So
I'm here to urge you all to do your duty and to go to your coffee shops
and your houses of worship, community centers, and urge your fellow
citizens to do their duty, as well. And while you're asking them to do
it, remind them, for the good of New Mexico and for the good of the
country, Steve Pearce is the right man for the Congress. (Applause.)
And I also want you to remind them that you've got a good man
running for governor. (Applause.) A man who can do the job; a man who
represents the best of New Mexico. Tell them John Sanchez is the right
man for the governor of New Mexico. (Applause.)
I'm proud to be here today with a member of my Cabinet. His name
is Mel Martinez. I want to tell you about Mel's story right quick. He
was a young boy, born in Cuba, but his mother and daddy realized the
promise of America. They realized that the land of freedom was the
right place to raise their child. And so they sent Mel by himself from
the island of Cuba, from the island of Cuba to escape the clutches of
Fidel Castro's repressive regime, to America. His mother and daddy
decided America was so important and so promising that they made an
incredibly difficult choice for a mother and dad, and that is they
said, son, we love you, we love you so much that we're sending you by
yourself as a young boy to America. And here he is today, in the
Cabinet of the President of the United States. He represents the best
of America, the promise of America, and the hope of America.
(Applause.)
And that's the greatness of this country. And that's what we've
all got to work together to achieve, to make sure the greatness of
America and the promise of America shines brightly for everybody.
I'm proud to be here today with my friend, the Governor of New
Mexico, and the great First Lady of New Mexico, Gary and Dee Johnson.
(Applause.) And one thing for certain is I'm not going to challenge him
to a foot race. (Laughter.) Or a bike race, or a swimming race.
(Laughter.)
I mention the First Lady -- unfortunately, you drew the short
straw today. If you really were smart Steve would have invited Laura
to come instead of me. (Applause.) I just talked to her on the
phone. She's in Crawford; she's fixing to head up to Washington.
She's doing great, by the way. (Applause.) I'm really proud of her.
She's born and raised in Midland. When I met her she was --
actually, we went to 8th grade together at San Jacinto Junior High.
And then we got to know each other again, and when I met her she was a
public school librarian. (Applause.) Oh, yeah. There's always one or
two in every crowd. (Laughter.)
I don't know how you feel about politics, but I can tell you how
she felt about politics -- she didn't care for them. (Laughter.)
When I married her she didn't like politicians. Yeah, I know.
(Laughter.) But fortunately, she said yes when I asked her to marry
me, and she is a great First Lady for America. (Applause.) I think it
has a lot to do with the part of the world that we're from, the part of
the world she's from -- your part of the world. (Applause.) A place
where values matter a lot, where family counts first, where faith is
important. (Applause.)
Today I'm sorry that one of the really finest United States
senators amongst the 100 is not with us. He's on his way to mourn the
loss of a fellow Senator, Paul Wellstone. We all send our send our
prayers and thoughts to his family. Pete Domenici is one of the fine
ones. He's a really, really great American. (Applause.) He's a
solid, solid citizen. And I hope, if all goes right, next Tuesday, all
around the country we're going to start calling him, Mr. Chairman
again, because we're going to change the United States Senate.
(Applause.)
No, I'm working hard to make sure that Denny Hastert remains the
Speaker. That's why I want you to send this good man, Steve Pearce, to
the Congress. I want to urge you to make sure that Pete Domenici goes
back to the Senate. We're working hard so that we can say with
certainty that in Washington we're working together to make America a
better place. (Applause.)
I appreciate so very much the fact that Joe Skeen has served New
Mexico with distinction. Joe's a good man. I've known him for a long
time. Of course, he's struggling right now with physical affliction,
but his faith is strong, his spirit is high. And we all owe him a debt
of gratitude for serving this great part of the world with class.
(Applause.)
I want to thank the Mayor of Alamogordo for coming here. I
appreciate, Mr. Mayor, your good work for this important community. I
want to thank all of you all who are involved with grassroots politics
-- Republican grassroots politics, those of you who man the phones and
put the signs in the yards and lick the envelopes. It's an essential
part of democracy. It's an essential part of how people win. I want
to thank you for what you have done. I want to thank you for what
you're going to do, which is do everything you can to turn out a big
vote for these good candidates. (Applause.)
And there's a reason; not just because they look pretty.
(Laughter.) Well -- (laughter.) Because they've got ideas on how to
make New Mexico a better place and how to make the country a stronger
place. John Sanchez understands that education is the most important
priority for any state. (Applause.) That's what he knows. He knows
what I know, that in order to be effective, in order to make sure
people can learn, you've got to set high standards. You've got to
believe every child can learn. You've got to challenge what I call the
soft bigotry of low expectations. (Applause.)
If you lower the bar, you're going to get lousy results. If the
system believes that certain children can't learn, you know what's
going to happen? People are going to get left behind. You've got to
have the highest of high standards. You've got to believe every child
can learn, especially those children whose parents may not speak
English as a first language. You've got to have a governor in whose
heart of hearts understands that high expectations is one of the keys
to success. And then you've got to have a governor who doesn't get
captured by the special interests of any state capital or national
capital, but a governor who trusts the local people to chart the path
to excellence for every child. Local control of schools is an
incredibly important part of educational excellence. (Applause.)
No, education is important. And if you believe every child can
learn, then you want to have an accountability system which will show
us whether every child is learning. See, if you believe every child
can learn, then you better have yourself a governor whose willing to
ask that fundamental question, can our children read and write, and add
and subtract. Can we teach them early enough, before it's too late?
You want to have a measuring system so that you're able to praise the
teachers for their good work. And for all of you who are teachers,
thank you from the bottom of our heart. (Applause.)
But in order to make sure every child can learn, if you believe
every child can learn, then you want to know, in order to make sure,
you better have an accountability system that tells us whether or not
our children are trapped in schools which will not teach and will not
change. And then you have a better -- governor who's got the courage
and the willingness, for the sake of the children, to demand change.
No child should be left behind in the state of New Mexico when John
Sanchez is your governor. (Applause.)
If one of the concerns is jobs in New Mexico, then it seems like to
me you better get you a governor who knows how to create jobs. See,
he's done that. He's an entrepreneur. He understands the role of
small business in our society. Small businesses create 70 percent of
the new jobs in America. So get you a governor who knows that, and get
you a governor who also understands the role of government is not to
create wealth, the role of government is to create opportunity.
(Applause.) Opportunity for our small businesses to grow to be big
businesses. Opportunities for our farmers and ranchers to be able to
make a living. (Applause.)
John Sanchez is the right man for governor. (Applause.) When you
turn out the vote, make sure you back this good man. He's going to
make you one you can be proud of. (Applause.) And I need Steve up in
the United States Congress. I don't need to be worried about a vote
from this part of New Mexico. I need somebody who's going to work with
me on a solid way, somebody we can count on. And the reason I know I
can count on him is because we share the same philosophy about life.
We understand the role of government, and we understand and are
optimistic that we can accomplish anything put in this country's path.
And we've got some big hurdles to cross. We've got some big steps
to climb. There's no question in my mind we can do that. After all,
this is the finest nation on the face of the Earth. (Applause.)
One big hurdle we've got to cross is to make sure this economy
keeps growing. Make sure people can find work. Any time one America
who wants to work can't find a job, says to me we've got a problem.
And, therefore, in Washington, we've go to be promoting pro-growth
policies -- pro-growth in the sectors necessary to increase
employment. One of the things I took on was the tax code. I told the
people of New Mexico and the country that if you elected me as
President I was going to do everything I can to reduce the tax burden
on the American people. And fortunately, it came at the right time.
See, here's what I believe, here's what Steve knows -- that if
you let a man or a woman keep more of their own money, they're more and
likely to demand an additional good or a service. And when somebody
demands a good or a service in our society, in our marketplace,
somebody is likely to produce the good or a service. And when somebody
produces that good or a service, it means somebody is more likely to be
able to find a job. (Applause.)
The best thing we have done in Washington for our economy is to let
the people of New Mexico and America keep more of your own money.
(Applause.) And now we need to have us a congressman who will join me
in making sure that the tax relief is permanent, that it exists for the
next decade, so you know you've got that money in your pocket, so you
know no one is going to come and take that money back away from you.
See, that's an important issue. It's an important issue.
There's a fundamental difference among some of us in Washington.
One of the things Steve and I understand is when we're talking about
the money up there, it's not the government's money. It's the people's
money. (Applause.)
We're working hard in Washington to make sure the country is a
better place. And that means fulfilling some of our commitments that
we made. One such commitment, of course, is Medicare. Medicine has
changed; Medicare hadn't. Medicine is becoming more and more modern
with the new technologies and the new medicines. Medicare is stuck in
the past. For the sake of a better America, for the sake of an America
fulfilling its promise, we need to modernize Medicare, including a
prescription drug plan for our seniors. (Applause.)
Steve understands that. Steve understands that. I look forward to
working with him on issues important, whether it be education, or
Medicare, or taxes, or making sure Congress doesn't overspend. These
are key issues we need to work on. But there's no more important issue
than to make sure our homeland is secure. The most important
obligation -- (applause.) The most important obligation we have at
all levels of government is to do everything we can to secure the
homeland, is to protect innocent life, is to prevent an enemy which
hates America from hurting any American.
And that's an important job, because -- and it's an ongoing job,
because you've just got to understand that an enemy lurks out there.
They're dangerous; they're determined; they're based upon -- they
base their sentiments upon hatred. They don't value innocent life.
See, that stands in stark contrast to America and Americans. We value
life. We say everybody is precious, everybody counts. (Applause.)
That's not how the enemy thinks. They've hijacked a great religion
and they murder in the name of that religion. They don't value life.
They hate America because of what we love. We love freedom. We love
the idea -- (applause.) We love the idea of people being able to
worship an almighty God any way you see fit. (Applause.) We love our
free society. We love the idea that people can come to America and
realize their dreams. Freedom stands at the heart and soul of America,
and we're not changing. (Applause.) And so long as we love freedom,
they're going to hate us.
The other thing that's important for our citizens to realize is
that the stakes have changed. After September the 11th we learned a
hard lesson and a cold lesson, and that is oceans no longer protect us
from the hatred of our enemies. When a lot of us were coming up, we
used to sit back and say oceans protect us; therefore, we have the
luxury of picking or choosing what threat we deal with. We can take
our time. If we chose not to be involved, we could just let a threat
materialize and we don't have to worry about it.
We've got to be clear-eyed about the new dangers we face. We've
got to be realistic. If we're going to protect America, it's very
important for all of us, particularly those of us in Washington, to not
hope for the best, but to see clearly the threats. And there is a real
threat in my judgment, a real and dangerous threat to America in Iraq,
in the form of Saddam Hussein. I want to -- this is a man, this is a
man who told the world that he wouldn't have weapons of mass
destruction. He's got weapons of mass destruction. This is a man who
has used weapons of mass destruction. He's used them against his
neighbors; he's used them against his own people. This is a person who
can't stand America. This is a person who has had contacts with al
Qaeda. This is a person who has defied international bodies time and
time again. This is a person who has made the United Nations look
foolish.
I went to the United Nations; I said to them as clearly as I could,
in Western language -- (laughter and applause) -- I said, you can
be an effective body to help us keep the peace, you can be an effective
U.N., or you can be the League of Nations. That's your choice to
make. You have the choice as to whether or not you will allow this
dictator to continue to defy the United Nations, and therefore, weaken
you. Or you can join with the United States and disarm him like he
said he would do.
I've also sent a message to Mr. Saddam Hussein: After 11 years,
you have defied the U.N. You have not done what you said you would
do. And now it is the time for you to disarm. The United States
Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, have debated this issue, and
they spoke with one clear voice. And here is what the administration
and now your elected representatives are saying to the world: Either
the United Nations will do its duty to disarm Saddam Hussein, or Saddam
Hussein will disarm himself. In either case, if they refuse to act, in
the name of peace, in the name of a secure tomorrow, in the name of
freedom, the United States will lead a coalition and disarm Saddam
Hussein. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: USA, USA, USA, USA!
THE PRESIDENT: No, we've got to be clear-eyed and realistic about
the threats we face. History has called us into action. This country
loves peace, and we love freedom, and we must lead the world to a more
peaceful world and a freer world.
It's also important to be realistic about what could happen here at
home. These people are lurking around. And so everybody, you've got
to know that we're working hard at all levels of government to run down
any lead, to chase down any hint, to deter and defy and deny an enemy
who still hates America. There's a lot of people working hard on your
behalf. But I believe we can do a better job, and that's why I asked
Congress to make sure that we bring all these agencies involved with
protecting America under one Cabinet office, so that we can set a clear
priority, and if need be, change cultures to make sure we're doing
everything in our power to protect America.
Let me give you some examples of what we need to have happen. On
the border, it's important to know who's coming into the country, what
they're bringing into the country, and whether or not they're leaving
when they say they're going to leave. (Applause.) On our borders, we
can be respectful to people and our neighbors, and at the same time, be
tough on terror. But there's three federal agencies full of good,
decent people who are working hard on border. There's INS and Border
Patrol and Customs -- three really fine agencies, full of good
people, but sometimes they don't share the same strategy. They've got
different uniforms. Sometimes they don't work as closely as they
should, because of rules, bureaucratic rules.
And so I've asked the Congress, give me the power to, in the name
of national security, to be able to effect those work rules, so that we
can better say to the American people, we're doing everything we can to
protect you. The House heard the call; the Senate hadn't. The Senate
hadn't moved. Another reason we need to change the leadership in the
Senate so we can get a -- (applause) -- so we can have a homeland
security department where this President and future Presidents are able
to put the right people at the right place with the right equipment at
the right time, to protect the American people. (Applause.)
I don't have to worry about old Steve Pearce's vote on that issue.
Or Pete Domenici's. I want you to know that no matter how hard we work
here at home -- and we'll work hard, however long it takes, we'll
work hard -- the most effective way to protect the homeland is to hunt
these killers down one at a time and bring them to justice.
(Applause.) That's the most effective thing. And we're doing it.
Slowly but surely, we're hunting them down.
Now, it's hard to tell progress sometimes because this is a
different kind of war. I'm sure we've got some vets out there who
remember the wars where, yes, we're making progress because we
destroyed some tanks, or we're making progress because we shot some
airplanes out of the sky. That's not the type of enemy we face now.
These people are ones who hide in caves, kind of lurk in the dark
corners of some of the cities in the world. Then they send youngsters
to their suicidal deaths. It's a new kind of war; a different kind of
army. But that doesn't mean we can't win. (Applause.) As a matter of
fact, I'm confident we will win. (Applause.) And I know we're making
progress. (Applause.)
And part of my confidence rests in the fact that we've got the
finest United States military in the world. (Applause.) And I just
signed a -- I signed a new defense bill. It's the largest increase in
defense spending since Ronald Reagan was the President. (Applause.)
The message -- there's two messages in that bill, it's important to
hear. One, anytime this country puts our troops into harm's way, we
owe it to the troops, and we owe it to the loved ones of the troops, to
make sure they've got the best training, the best equipment, and the
best possible pay. (Applause.)
And the second message is that -- and this is a message to our
friends and to our foes alike -- that we're in this deal for the long
haul. It don't matter how long it takes. When it comes to the defense
of our freedom, when it comes to the -- defending the American
people, it doesn't matter how long it takes. There is not a calendar
in the Oval Office which says, on this day, Mr. President, you haul
them home. That just doesn't exist in my way of thinking. It doesn't
exist in the way of thinking of most Americans. They understand what
is at stake. They understand we have an obligation. They understand
no matter how long it takes, no matter what the cost, we're going to do
our duty, and that is to defend freedom and to defeat the enemy of
terror. (Applause.) To defeat that enemy that loves terror as a
weapon.
We've hauled in a couple of thousand of them so far. I say we --
the doctrine still stands which says, either you're with us or you're
with the others. That doctrine still exists, and there is still a
coalition of people working together. The other day we got a guy named
bin al-Shebh. He thought he was going to be the 20th hijacker. That's
what he wanted to be. He popped his head up; he is no longer a problem
to America. (Applause.)
A couple of thousand of them have been hauled in by America and our
friends, and we're still making progress, one at a time. We're putting
that spotlight into caves and we're hauling them out of there. We're
finding them in the dark corners. A like number hadn't been so lucky,
by the way. And they're not a problem either. Slowly but surely. It
doesn't matter how long it takes.
You know, I don't know what was going through the mind of the
enemy. They probably took a look at America and said, you know, these
folks are shallow, they've got one religion called materialism, they're
self-absorbed. After they hit us, we'd probably take a step back and
maybe file a lawsuit or two. (Laughter.) No, they made a big, big
mistake. (Applause.) They don't understand the character of the
country.
See, this country is strong, it's steady. This country is
determined. And so long as we remain strong and determined, so long as
we remember that freedom is not created by America, freedom is
God-given for everybody around the world -- (applause) -- so long
as we hold our values dear, we can bring peace. I want you to tell
your kids that amongst all the talk about war, there's a burning and
deep desire to make the world peaceful, to make America peaceful. Not
only to make America peaceful because we value each life, everybody
counts, peace in other parts of the world, as well.
I truly believe that out of the evil done to America can come some
incredible good, some incredible good. And that good is going to be a
peaceful world. I also know here at home that we can be a better
America. I've talked about ways for government to help, but you've got
to know that government, even though it can hand out money, it can
never put hope in people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's
lives. The best healing there is in America, the best way to eliminate
pockets of despair and hopelessness which exist in this land, the best
way to make sure that the American experience is for everybody is for
our fellow citizens to put their arm around somebody who hurts and say,
I love you, I love you. (Applause.)
If you want -- I used to tell people right after September the
11th, if you want to join the war on terror, if you want to fight evil,
do some good. Do some good. Do some good right here in Alamogordo,
New Mexico. (Applause.) Help feed the hungry. Help -- mentor a
child. If you really want to do some good, teach a child how to read.
See, our society is going to change, one heart, one soul, one
conscience at a time.
The enemy hit us; they didn't know who they were hitting us. They
didn't realize they were hitting not only a strong nation, a tough
nation, but a compassionate nation, as well. (Applause.) The great
strength of America lies not in our halls of government; the great
strength of our country lay in the hearts and souls of our fellow
citizens.
You know, one of the things that's happened after September the
11th is that a lot of Americans took a step back and said, how best to
live my life, what can I do; how best to realize the American
experience. I think a lot of it had to do with what took place on
Flight 93 that day when our fellow citizens we're flying across the
country. They learned that the airplane they were on was going to be
used as a weapon to destroy life. On their cell phones they told their
loved ones good-bye, they told their loved ones they loved them. They
said a prayer, they prayed for guidance and strength. A guy said,
"Let's roll." They took the plane into the ground, to serve something
greater than themselves in life.
The aftermath of the evil done to America has caused a lot of
Americans to understand that a full life, a decent life, a complete
life is to serve something greater than yourself in life. If you're a
mom or a dad, remember your most important job will be to love your
child with all your heart and all your soul. If you care about your
community here in New Mexico, get involved with your schools. Help
people in need. If you're running corporate America, you remember you
have a responsibility to tell the truth and not lie and cheat employees
and shareholders. (Applause.)
No, the enemy hit us, but they hit a great nation, a nation which
will work to keep the peace, and a nation which will respond in a way
here at home, where that great hope of America, the great promise of
our country, the spirit that causes Mel's mother and daddy to send him
here to America applies to everybody.
There's no question in my mind, fellow citizens, that we've got
hurdles ahead of us. No question in my mind we're going to leap those
hurdles. Because this is the finest nation, full of the most decent
people on the face of the Earth.
Thanks for coming. God bless you all. And God bless America.
(Applause.)
END 9:36 A.M. MST
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